


Lone Stars

by VixxDer



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Canon, Attempted Sexual Assault, F/M, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:54:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23753404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VixxDer/pseuds/VixxDer
Summary: Lexus Quintin lives in a life where people are constantly forgetting and abandoning her. Family and friends repeating the process. Her life takes a second drastic turn when her home is invaded and destroyed. Her only light from the darkness are four men... A muscle head guard, a dorky chocobohead, a spectacle advisor, and a lazy prince. Oh, joy. [Ignis x OC]
Relationships: Ignis Scientia/Original Female Character(s), Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

"Mommy! Daddy! The feathers tickle!" Screamed a little girl of ten. The large yellow bird, known as a Chocobo, rubbed its face against her's.

Smiling parents stood by giggling at their excited daughter. "Does it, sweetie?" The mother asked, leaning down to her.

"Can I tickle it back?" She asked, smoothing her tiny hands through the large feathers.

"No, honey. But, I think it would like a scratch by the neck." The father suggested.

The little girl looked up, reaching her arm as high as she could to reach the neck. The bird noticed her struggle, it crouched down and lowered its neck for her to reach. She scratched it gently, as she continued the Chocobo's head rose up making a purring sound vibrate from it's throat. The little girl's shoulders shook as she giggled, her shoulder length pine green hair bounced about.

"Mommy! Listen! It's purring like a cat!" She ran over to her mom, as the Chocobo stood and wandered off with a small herd by the pens.

The mother, with a darker shade of hair than her daughter's, picked her up hugging her close. "It really likes you, Lexi." She told, as the daughter blushed. "You'd want to be a Chocobo Breeder, right honey?"

"Hm-hm." The mother raised a brow at her daughter's answer. She put her down as Lexus ran around the grounds. "I want to be a famous Chocobo Racer! Just like daddy!" Her big bright blue eyes sparkled.

The father gave a hearty laugh, "That's my girl!" taking his daughter and sitting her on his shoulder.s She gripped his blond hair as he ran around, bouncing his daughter about like she was riding a chocobo. She laughed loudly, gaining people's attention who smiled at her.

"The Duscae Chocobo Cup race is about to begin!" Came over a voice on the speakers. "Racers get your birds ready and take your spot at the starting gates!"

They all stopped, the father smiled as his race was coming up. His daughter bounced again, "Daddy that's your cue- as mommy would say." She laughed, her father chuckled.

"Yup, want to wish Ferris good luck?" He asked lifting him off and placing her on the ground. Lexus nodded and took in lead to the jockey's pens.

Varin Quintin was a top Chocobo racer of all of Lucis, winning races and making top breaking records with his steed Ferris. He grew up in Duscae spending his teen years working at a Chocobo post, shoveling stalls, feeding birds, and training one he grew fond of to become the number one Chocobo racer. Winning his first race at seventeen, he met the love of his life and his future was set.

At the gates, jockey's approached and soothed their birds getting them ready for the race. Varin held his wife's hand as their daughter went over to the end gate where a bright red chocobo stood with its saddle and reins set on it. The bird fidgeted at his owner's arrival and lowered his head nuzzling against Lexus.

"H-h-hi Ferry!" She giggled petting his peak and scratched his head. "Good luck in the race, boy!"

Ferris stretched his neck in the air letting out an excited cry, and shifted left and right in his small gate. Varin pulled a pair of goggles over his head and placed them over his eyes, around his neck was a black feather chained to a necklace. He knelt down to Lexus and she kissed his cheek with good luck. She spotted the necklace, and touched the soft feather.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Did you get this feather from a real black chocobo?" She asked, tilting her head.

He chuckled and stood, "Of course I did, I've told you the story almost one hundred times." Varin climbed over the gate and mounted his chocobo. Adjusting himself and taking the reins he jokingly took a heroic pose. "It's my secret weapon. You're father will win and make it to the Lucis Royal Prix!"

His wife, Hilda, took Lexus' hand smiling down at her. "We'll be at the stands, Var." She informed.

Hilda bent over the railing, Varin leaned down as the two kissed, Lexus smiled at her parents. Most children she knew found these things gross, but she was just happy to see her parents loved each other, and her. Hilda patted his cheek, whispering to be careful. He Grinned back assuring he would be.

Hilda picked her daughter up and walked over to the bleachers taking a seat at the third row from the front in the middle. Hilda watched Lexus beam ear to ear waiting eagerly for the race to start, bouncing in her seat. The worried wart of a mother just smiled, the bells ran and the race started!

"Go Daddy!" Cried Lexus shaking her mother's sleeve with excitement.

Her mother sat silently, she strained her throat enough through the years of racing to cheer her husband on. Lexus did well, screaming over the cheers to her father as he sped by. The red blur made Lexus scream louder, the smile as wide as her cheeks would allow. Hilda kept a hand on her daughter's shoulder to keep her from falling off the bleachers as she bounced about.

"Go Daddy! You're the best ever!" Lexus cried clapping her hands.

"The winner is…Varin Quintin!"

Lexus gasped, shaking her mother's sleeve more. She chuckled at her daughter. "Mommy! That means Daddy gets to be in the Grand Prix right?"

"That's right, do you know where that's being held?" She shook her head as her mother stood, holding Lexus' hand. "Insomnia, the Lucis capital."

Lexus' jaw hung, her eyes were wide with shock. "Really!? The actual city, wa-y over the lo-ng bridge?" She asked, widening her words.

"Indeed, that's where your uncle Roland lives." Hilda reminded her, walking toward the pens. "Remember him?"

Lexus nodded, "Yea, he's the one with the bar right? Your brother?"

"That's right, Lexy. We'll be staying with him during event." Hilda stopped and knelt down to her daughter, hands on her shoulders. "I want you to remember, that you have to stay in your room at night, okay?"

Lexus blinked, and smiled. "Okay, Mommy. It's because Uncle Roland's friends become weird, right?"

Hilda nodded, and stood with a smile. "Yup, if you need any company I'll sit with you, okay?"

The ride to the city Insomnia was longer than Lexus expected. In the back of the car, as her father drove along the bridge just passing the border for clearance and legal entrance, Lexus was anxious still seeing the water and not the city.

"Daddy, when will we see the city? This bridge is too long." She whined, folding her arms in a pout.

Varin peeked at the rear view mirror and chuckled, bringing his eyes back to the road. "It's as expected, honey. It's not like back in Liede where there are dirt roads to cut through."

Hilda looked back at their daughter, then to her husband. "Maybe we should've kept her at the post where for Wiz to watch her."

Varin waved off the notion, resting his arm on the door with the window opened. "You know your brother won't let anything happen to her, Hilda. It's not like he lives in a crime infested street." She gave him a look, "This is Insomnia after all, safest place of all of Lucis. Hey, Lexus, maybe you'll even get to meet his highness' son, Prince Noctis?"

Lexus stuck her tongue out in disgust. "I don't like princes, Daddy."

He chuckled coming to a stop for a second inspection. He handed the papers and looked back once more. "So, you're saying you don't like the future king? He's only two years younger, if Roland informed us correctly."

Hilda gasped, "That's right, he'd be about eight years old, correct?" she clapped her hands together. "He must be so adorable!"

Varin was handed the papers, getting approval from the guards. Lexus gave a childish glare at her mother's head and looked out the window seeing the guards. Said suited man who was instructing her father were to go noticed her, he smiled and waved to her. Lexus ducked down, but gave a wave back as the car pulled away.

"What were those big things in their hands, daddy?" She asked, turning her body around to see them shrink away as the car continued.

"Those? They were-"

"Lexus, look we're here!" Her mother suddenly barked, pointing at the high buildings coming into view. She gasped and leaned to her left, right, and even between the parents to catch as much of the city sights as she could.

Varin stopped at a traffic light, and side glanced to his wife. He can understand wanting to keep the innocence of their darling daughter, but he knew that wouldn't last forever. It was a dangerous world, he hoped she kept the future of racer in her heart. So far, that was the safest life to have next to Hilda's brother's life as a bar owner.

"Uncle Roland!" Cried Lexus as she burst into the building, a bell above the door rang.

A man stood behind the bar, cleaning his counters when he heard the shrill yell of a tiny girl. He smiled with hands on his hips, his bald head hidden under his black beanie. He wore jeans and a black shirt with a white apron over it to keep the filth of his dishes off his precious clothing. "Is that my little Lexy?"

He came around and scooped her right up, "My goodness! You've grown so much since I last saw you!"

Her parents soon followed in, Hilda smiled at the sight as Varin carried the suitcases in. The bar was called, 'Casa Nova Bar'. Hilda thought the name was inappropriate, but her brother kept it nonetheless. Hilda looked around, keeping herself to the door unlike her husband who walked right over to greet his brother-in-law. It wasn't as though she was snobby about the establishment, Hilda just didn't feel comfortable about any kind of bar or drinking places.

"Roland, can't thank you enough for letting us stay here." Varin thanked, holding a hand out to shake.

Said man laughed wholeheartedly, placing Lexus to sit on the bar counter. "You're family, brother! Of course you can stay here whenever!" He wrapped his large arms around the tiny thin man and lifted him up into a crushing bear hug. "Congrats on your latest win, by the way!"

Varin coughed, wheezed out a "Thanks.!" before brought back down to the floor, leaning on the bar for support. Lexus giggled, hand hiding her large smile.

Roland spotted his little sister by the door, he raised a brow with fists against his hips. He was a very fit, muscular man working as a bouncer at clubs for a while before owning his own bar. He stayed in the city, keeping any updates he heard about. Sometimes the Crownguard members or those that worked at the Citadel talked about information if drunk enough. Roland wished his family visited more, his sister always worried for the safety of her family. It only made sense to live beyond the safety of the walls of Insomnia, right?

"Hilda, aren't you going to give your big brother a hug?" He told, opening his arms waiting for the said hug.

The sister smiled and nodded, she approached him wrapping her arms around him. Unlike to Varin, he was more gentle in returning the hug. Lexus kicked her legs, she looked out the windows seeing the sun shining on the buildings and road. Hopping off, she ra overlooking outside as the adults talked.

"Injured?" Hilda asked, hand at her chest sitting behind her husband at the bar.

Roland got them cold waters, nodding at her words. "He should be returning from Tenebrae soon. That's where he's currently resting."

Varin sipped his water, he gave a sigh. "Thank the Gods he didn't get killed. But, why Tenebrae?"

Roland shrugged, "I can't get every single detail about it all, just what those guards say when drunk off their rockers."

"I don't even want to imagine what his highness must have felt." Hilda shook her head, it scared her enough whenever her daughter tried to wander from home or the chocobo post.

"It's been quiet here without the royal family. Once they return, that's when the chocobo races should be held right? I hear it's as a welcoming event for the prince as well."

"Is that so, that's nice to that for Prince Noctis." Hilda praised, a smile returning.

Lexus frowned at the conversation, her mother seemed to always get excited whenever the prince was mentioned. Well, he wasn't in the city now and what were the chances of ever meeting him any who?

"Not only that," Roland leaned over the counter, as if being secretive to his next statement. "Winner is earned as Chocobo Racing Master, by King Regis himself!"

Hilda gasped, fanning herself at the shock -a bit dramatically- Varin smirked at his brother-in-law's conjecture. "Sure thing, will he offer my daughter's hand to betrothal to his son as well?"

The men laughed, Hilda joined in but had a bit of hope in there. Lexus frowned, she decided she was done hearing this. Opening the door, but stopped looking up seeing the door right against the bell. Not wanting to be stopped, she slipped through the doorway best she could and stomped off down the street… to who knows where.

Lexus knew the city Insomnia was large- but not so big that she'd get lost within ten minutes of leaving the bar. She was so sure her mother was having a heart attack-

"..No." She muttered. "All she cares about is the stupid prince." She muttered, stomping down the sidewalk again with clenched fists.

Though her eyes were cast downward, she didn't watch where she was going, hearing the honks of cars brought her back. Eyes shot up seeing she was walking right into traffic. Lexus jumped back onto the sidewalk, letting the cars continue onward with their travel. She sighed, and looked up at the tall buildings, as the sun shined against the windows. She could barely see the sky, with highways and buildings blocking it. There were people all over, crowding the walkways and there wasn't as much freedom of walking as Duscae or Liede gave.

"Move it, kid." Groaned an older man shoving her out of the way to cross the road.

Lexus stepped against leaning against the building at the corner. Where was she? How would she get back to the bar? Would her parents or uncle find her? Wait, maybe she could ask someone for a phone and call the bar. Oh, but she didn't know the number. If only she had a mobile phone like her parents. Looking up at the street signs, Lexus thought maybe she could try and memorize her way back. Peeking around the corner, she tried to find anything down the street that rang a bell. Maybe a store, a sign or two, but as she began walking back down Lexus instantly forgot how many turns she made.

"I can't find my way anywhere.." She mumbled, going back against a building and sitting down hugging her knees. Her eyes started to burn and throat tightened. "I'm lost." She squeaked, tucking her head into her arms, shoulders shook as the little girl began to sob.

Seemed no one payed any mind to the girl, foot steps passed by, but paused, and turned around. The steps approached Lexus, shadow draw over her. The figure examined her, seeing she was clearly distraught, possibly hurt? Looking around, they saw no adult approach her as well, where were her parents?

"Are you alright?"

Lexus sniffled, she looked up finding a young boy about her age, maybe older looking down at her. She blinked away some tears, and wiped her eyes feeling the swelling set in her cheeks and eyes. The boy knelt down, reaching into his pocket looking for a handkerchief. She now got a good look at him, he wore glasses on his face, light brown hair was swept back, though his bangs stood tall. He dressed pretty formal, wearing a black vest, white dress shirt, and black tie with dress pants. She wasn't wrong about him being possibly the same age right, or was he much older?

"Here." She noticed him offering a handkerchief, she took it nodding a thanks and wiped her eyes, though tears still formed. "Are you hurt, by any chance?"

Lexus shook her head, and hid her face once again, shoulders shaking much less. The boy looked around some more, then back to her. "Are you lost?" She nodded at that, sniffling some more. "Use the handkerchief." He instructed, reaching out to lift her hand, taking the cloth and wiping her eyes and nose.

She felt this boy give a motherly vibe, showing concern for her and even properly wiping her face. Though he was gentle, he got a good look at her face. He spent most of his time taking care of a certain prince to notice any other kids his age, but he certainly never seen a girl with hair color such as hers.

"Where do you live?" He asked.

Lexus rubbed her cheeks, "I live in Duscea." He was taken aback, she lived outside the city? "I'm visiting my Uncle Roland." Ah, that made more sense.

"Where does he live?" He asked, letting her hold the cloth. Possibly helping her calm down as she rubbed it between her thumb and index finger.

"At a bar, it's called Casa Nova Bar." She answered, her voice much lighter than before through her crying.

The boy looked to his wristwatch, he pushed his glasses up and stood. "I've seen the place in my passing, I'll take you home." He held his hand out, though a smile never showed at his kind gesture. His green eyes behind the glasses were stern, like a parent.

Lexus didn't need it, as she took his hand letting him lead her down the street back to her home. Things were starting to become familiar as they continued, though she still pondered who the boy was. Her eyes went down to their hands, she tightened her grip and moved closer to him. It was the same feeling she got when holding her parents' hands; security and protection.

The boy looked to her, she had to be at least younger than the prince. His height was over her, then again boys tend to tower over girls. He didn't care for how tight of a grip she gave to his hand, soon she'd be home and he can continue his way back to his own home.

"What's your name?" The girl asked, looking up at him.

He glanced before looking back ahead. "Ignis."

She smiled and swung their hands, suddenly cheerful and lighthearted. "I'm Lexus, do you live here in the city?" He nodded, getting a 'wow' from her. "How do you know where you are?"

"Living here long enough helps you memorize the streets and buildings." He told, turning a corner only to pause at a street crossing. Lexus leaned forward to see his serious demeanor not change. He noticed her staring and looked down to her, "What?"

She giggled and said, "I like your accent." Ignis raised a brow at that, a tad out of the blue. "I also like your glasses, kind of like daddy's goggles. But I think I like your hair most of all."

Ignis stared back at her for a while, he wasn't used to being around much girls unless it was Iris. He thought maybe she was around the shield's little sister's age. They seemed to be the same, maybe they'd get along well.

"Hey, we can cross, right?" Lexus asked, tugging his hand.

He broke from his thoughts, looking up seeing the sign indeed indicate they can safely cross.

The walk soon ended as the sun was starting to set. Lexus' hold on on his hand loosened, she was silent again and Ignis took notice. "Tired?"

She shook her head, and stopped walking. Ignis stopped and turned back to her. "..Mommy will be mad."

Ignis sighed, could he count this as part of his education for children? He never expected this kind of thing from the prince, but would with another certain little girl. "She will be, but that means she cares, right?"

Lexus' expression suddenly turned from sad to angry. "If she did care, she wouldn't be talking about that stupid prince all the time." He was shocked by those words, and wanted to defend for his highness. "All she talks about is how cute he must be, he'll be a great king, and was worried when we heard he got hurt. I hope he stays in Tenebrae and never comes back."

Ah, he understood. This was just a small bit of jealously. This would be the same like if a younger sibling was earning more attention than the elder sibling. But in this case, it was over the prince. His mind scrambled how to handle this, stay silent and just take her home, give more comforting words, or tell her she was wrong? Possibly all three.

"I don't believe it's your mother caring more about the prince than you. Maybe she's just showing her respect, and as a mother she might just show concern as the prince lost his mother when he was just an infant." He explained, Lexus looked to him at that.

"I.. had no idea." Lexus muttered, now feeling guilty. She didn't ever want to imagine her mother gone from her life, let alone never knowing her. Her father wouldn't be as happy as he was now. Uncle Roland would be really said too if his sister was gone.

"Lexus!"

The two heads shot up, seeing Lexus' mother and father at the end of the street staring at them. The mother did a full sprint toward the two. Ignis let out of her hand just in time for the mother to fell to her knees and hold her daughter tightly. "Thank the Gods! You're alright!"

Her father wasn't far off, he leaned on his knees as his wife sobbed, rubbing their daughter's back and hair. "You had your mother worried to hell and back, Lexus." He scolded softly.

"Mommy, Daddy-"

Hilda grabbed her shoulders tightly, tears were down her face worse than Lexus' was when Ignis found her. "Don't you ever wander off like that again! Understand me!? You don't know this city, you could've been taken or hit by a car!"

Lexus blinked, her jaw hinged not knowing what to say. Her eyes went to Ignis, who finally let a soft smile grace his lips. He was right; she was really, really worried about her. Her eyes swelled up with tears again, her free hand still held the handkerchief with the grip tightening.

"I'm sorry!" She cried hugging her mother, hiding her face in her shoulder. Tears stained her blouse, as she embraced her daughter not planning to let go anytime soon. "I'm sorry, Mommy! I'm sorry, Daddy!"

Varin chuckled at the sobbing the two girls in his life let out on the pavement. He shifted his attention to the boy. "Thank you, for bringing my daughter back. Sorry if she caused you trouble."

Ignis bowed his head in respect to the girl's' father. "She was no trouble, just needed a guide was all." He lifted his head, finding the man holding a hand out. Varin smiled, the same smile his daughter held. Ignis took his hand earning a handshake as thanks.

"Oh, yes! Thank you, young man." The mother cried, keeping a hand on her daughter's shoulders. A free arm came around Ignis pulling him into an awkward teary hug. Lexus' gave a giggle as his glasses struggled to stay on his face against her shoulder.

Varin helped free the boy, and helped his wife to her feet. "Thank you again, could we give you a ride home?" He offered, seeing the boy wasn't off on age to their daughter.

He raised a hand, "No thank you, I'll be fine on my own. Have a good evening." He bowed again, and turned to leave.

"W-Wait! Ignis!" Lexus cried, he turned back seeing her hold the handkerchief to him.

"Keep it, you seem to need it far more than I do." He told, hands shoved in his pockets.

Lexus' smile came back, with a sudden step forward she hugged the boy just as tightly as her hand held his. "Thank you, Ignis."

The boy felt uncomfortable by the hug, would he hug back? Before he could even make the motion, she gave one last smile and ran back to her parents. She held their hands as they lead her back to the bar.

There were many, many people who lived in the city Insomnia. Ignis couldn't memorize every human being within the wall, but he would find it impossible to forget the girl with pine green hair.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mommy!" Lexus called, descending down the stairs and ran over to Hilda who sat with her brother Roland.

"Hey, cupcake!" He greeted, picking her up to sit in his lap.

"What is it, honey?"

Lexus reached into her skirt pocket taking out a beige cloth, handing it to her mother. "You do embroidery, right?"

"Yup, I do. Why do you ask?" Hilda took the cloth, just noticing the rich material it was made of.

It had been a few weeks since their arrival to Insomnia, Hilda had fallen in love the city. She met a lot of kind people, and walked with Lexus who walked to the around-about where the race was being held. Everyone just waited for the return of Prince Noctis and King Regis. The wait was driving Varin crazy, and went out to where the chocobos were being held so Ferris wouldn't feel neglected. The city wasn't part of their habitat, they can't be left inside the pens for so long without getting restless.

Lexus pointed at the cloth in her mom's hand, "I want to put Ignis' name on it."

"I thought that boy said you could keep it." Roland recalled from what he was told when they brought Lexus back.

She turned to him, "It's so that I don't forget him." Lexus took the cloth, now clean from her tears on that day.

Roland chuckled, "He shouldn't be hard to forget." he placed his palms at the top of his hat covered head. "His hair was like nothing you've ever seen, right?"

Lexus pouted at her uncle, "I will when we leave Insomnia. I live in Duscae with mommy and daddy, who knows when I'll see him again." she explained, letting her head hang at the thought. "He was the first kind person to me here."

Hilda patted her daughter's head with a smile, "You can always visit Uncle Roland if you really want to see your friend, okay?" Lexus looked to him, he nodded with the same smile.

Her cheeks warmed, thinking of seeing Ignis again with her own smile. "I-I still want to have his name on it, please?"

Hilda moved her to her lap taking the cloth. "Of course, how about I show you how to do embroidery?"

The little girl beamed, "Can I?"

"Yup! What color-"

Suddenly the door to the bar slammed open, the bell near fell off. "Hilda! T-They're back!"

Roland paused at yelling about being rough with his door. "Who is back?" Hilda asked, concern about the huge smile on her husband's face.

"King Regis and his son, Prince Noctis! They just entered the citadel, I heard from the people that the race might be held in a few days!"

Everyone burst into cheers, Lexus ran to her dad who scooped her up and spun her around the room. "Ready to see your dad show Insomnia who the true Chocobo Race Master is?"

"You'll leave them in the dust, daddy!"

* * *

Later that night after diner-

"So, what color do you want to do for his name?" Hilda asked, sitting in the guest room that was Lexus'. They sat at the table looking at the threads of many colors.

Lexus looked over them all struggling to pick. She wanted a color that would help keep him in memory, but she couldn't put her favorite color yellow in there. It wouldn't work against the beige and it didn't make her think of him.

Hilda noticed her daughter's struggle. "Do you know his favorite color?" She was about to answer, but shook her head. "Hmm, well let's try this way. Close your eyes." Lexus frowned at her mother's request, "Go on, close them." The girl sighed and did as her mother told.

"Now, what color do you see when you think of your father?" She asked.

"..Red, like his chocobo Ferris." Lexus answered, still confused where her mother was going with this.

"And Roland, what color does he make you think of?"

"Uhh… Oh, blue! The sign at his work is blue, so I think of that for Uncle Roland." Lexus smiled, remembering the first time she saw those bright lights.

Hilda chuckled, "Now, think of your time with the boy, Ignis. What color does he make you think of? Maybe his brown hair?" Lexus shook her head. "Maybe black, with the amount on his clothing?" She shook her head again, her eyes closed tightly trying to see a color.

Though she sighed, opening them. "I don't see any color."

Hilda put a hand on her shoulder, "Well, how about thinking over the color? Don't want to rush good art, right?"

"Yea, your right." Lexus agreed, going to her bed and crawling under the covers.

Hilda stood from the desk, walking over to kiss her daughter's head. "Sleep well, Lexus." She turned and shut the light off, letting the lamp by her bed engulf the room in some golden light. She wasn't all that scared of the darkness, but Hilda did it just in case.

Lexus sighed, and turned to one side of her bed staring at the cloth that sat at her desk. A small smile was shown as her eyes closed to drift into dreamland.

* * *

Few days past, and it was the day before the race. Lexus was with her father, watching as he helped set the gates up for the race track. From what she remembered her father told her, the race would be taken place starting here, and through the roads of Insomnia. It might cause traffic, but looking up at the highways made her think differently. She sighed, Lexus was bored as she sitting on a higher wall by the Calex Velum. She kicked her legs, looking around seeing people watch behind the work gates. She heard them talk about the race, they looked excited making her smile. Lexus turned toward the building, clapping excitedly to herself.

"Daddy's gonna wipe the floor of those other racers, and be more famous than the king himself." She told herself, grinning ear to ear.

"That so?"

Lexus jumped at the voice and looked down behind her finding Ignis staring up at her. "Ah! Ignis! I found yo- woah, woah!"

It was then Ignis realized she was losing balance to fall backwards off the wall. Before he could move, she fell backwards crashing right on top of the boy. With groans of pain, she got off finding she landed on his back as he laid on the pavement in pain. Lexus gasped, she got off and shook his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright? Ignis?"

"Ahh..." He groaned sitting up, rubbing his back. "Just some bruises."

Lexus gave a good look at him, he looked over noticing she was staring closely at his face. "Oh no!" She cried, and covered her mouth seeing she made him jump. "Your glasses, where did they go?"

Glasses? Oh no! She was so close he hadn't noticed a difference in his eye sight. Ignis got to his knees and looked around for any dark frames on the cement. Lexus went to work looking around, hoping they didn't get broken or lost.

"Found them." He informed, picking them up a few feet away from where she crashed.

"Are they okay?" She asked, going over, both now kneeling on the pavement.

"No scratches, and are still wearable." He told, putting them back on and looked to her. "At least I know they can handle flying off my face." He joked, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.

Lexus was expecting him to be angry, first for crushing him and second for almost breaking his glasses. A smile crossed her features as she jumped to her feet, hands behind her back. "That's a good pair then. I'm so glad I got to see you again, Ignis."

"That so?" He asked, seeing his clothing wasn't damaged either.

"Hm-hmm! Oh, what are you doing around here? This area is closed off for the chocobo race." She asked, realizing this was a bit weird to find him here.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." He told, hand on his hips looking down on her. "You're not lost again, are you?"

Her cheeks puffed out, "No, I learned my lesson!" she told stomping her foot making the boy want to chuckle at her childish charm. "My daddy's in the chocobo race, he's the best racer in all of Lucis."

Lexus pointed across the roadways, Ignis followed. He saw the same man that was looking for her that day Ignis met her. Well, if her father was here she was alright being here, he guessed. "So good, he'll be more famous than King Regis, I believe you said?"

The pine haired girl didn't back out on her words. "That's right! He may be a great king, but even he can't beat my dad at a race."

Ignis could only imagine what Noctis would say to this statement. Then again, chocobos weren't seen about the city. People who have been outside mentioned the free reign riding chocobos give, maybe this race would be good for deeper connections outside the city and to the rest of Lucis, he thought.

"So, why are you here, Ignis?" She asked, looking up at him with her smile returning.

He turned his attention back to her, "I was-You're bleeding."

"Huh?" Her eyes followed his gaze down to her open knee, where her pants were ripped. Indeed she had a cut there, small blood was staining the jeans. "What? I didn't even notice."

Ignis sighed, not exactly annoyed. More like a mother sighing at a forgetful child. He knelt down and gently pulled her leg out to see better. He reached into his back pocket taking out a tissue to clean the cut. Lexus winced, now feeling the sting in the open wound. Once clean, Ignis pulled a band aid from his pocket as well, and patched her knee up with it.

"There, it'll have to be properly cleaned when you get home." He stood, balling up the bloody tissue and band aid packet before tossing it into a nearby trash can. The boy checked his wristwatch, his brows knotted. "I should get going, it was nice seeing you again, Lexus."

Lexus hands knotted together tightly. But, she wanted to see him again- maybe at the race? It seemed all of Insomnia was going to be there, even the king and prince themselves. Her lips quivered watching the boy walk further and further away. Her cheeks burned, and heart raced as she yelled out, "Will you be at the chocobo race?!"

A bit stunned by her way of asking, Ignis turned adjusting his glasses with a smile. "Indeed." He waved and turned to leave once more.

Lexus' face beamed and her eyes twinkled with excitement. "I get to see him again! I get to see him again!" She cheered, then seeing the stares the adults gave her, she covered her mouth. Lexus whispered the cheers to herself, so full of glee that she'd get to watch the race with her new friend.

* * *

When Lexus arrived home, she ate her dinner and went straight to her mom to make the stitching for her handkerchief. Of course, got her leg cleaned up as well. "Hurry mom! I don't want to forget the color!" She urged, pushing her mother into her room toward the desk.

"Careful, sweetheart." Hilda chuckled, and sat down looking at the colors she laid out days ago for Lexus to choose. "So, you figured out a color for him?"

"Hm-hmm!" Lexus looked at the colors, and picked up a spindle showing her mother. "Green!"

Hilda chuckled, "Green, huh? Mind I ask why they this color?"

Her eyes sparkled, putting her chin in her hands as her smile widened. "I saw his eyes, they were such pretty green eyes. I wish I had those eyes."

Hilda watched her daughter daydream, reaching over to teasingly pinch her cheeks. "But you already have such beautiful ocean blue eyes, sweet cake."

Lexus whined at the pinch but laughed, rubbing her cheeks. "He said he'd be at the race tomorrow. Can I show him the embroidery then, and watch the race with him?" She jumped up and down in her night dress. "I want him to see daddy win."

Hilda patted her head until she stopped jumping. Seeing her daughter make a friend made her heart soar, Lexus was so happy. Back in Duscae, Lexus always interacting with the chocobos and never any other kids she met. Hilda prayed the Gods that Ignis kid would be the key for Lexus to have a life in Insomnia; A normal, safe, and carefree life.

"Well, once you get to bed I'll get right to work on it." She told her daughter who frowned.

"But you said you'd teach me." Lexus whined, shaking her mother's arm.

"It's gotten late, honey. I promise to put it right on your bedside once I'm done, alright?" Hilda leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead and shooed her to the bed.

Lexus did as told, crawling into the bed and kept her eyes on her mom as long as she could, but soon fell to sleep. Hilda noticed her daughter curled up in the bed asleep once she had gotten through the 'g'. The mother paused letting out a sigh, and looked out the window seeing the starry night sky. Though she knew untouchable, they were safe within the city walls thanks tho King Regis. Hilda wanted her daughter to have a protected and happy life here. Make friends, live a normal life, and even have her own family to raise here.

She thought too far for Lexus, but ever since this war stuff started growing too close to home what choice did she have?

"Please," Hilda whispered in a prayer, "let my daughter find happiness in this dark world."

The next day, was the long awaited chocobo race! Everyone gathered to the circle of the city, the gates were being loaded with the racer's steeds and people walked to find good spots to watch the race. All that was to be waited was King Regis and Prince Noctis' arrival.

Whispers of the son recently recovering from a coma and being in a wheelchair spread through the crowds. Lexus held her mother and uncle's hands as they passed through the people. The little girl had her hair in a french braid, loose strands and bangs swept to the side with a hair clip keeping them in place. Black turtleneck and black leggings under a red short sleeve dress, the red representing her support to her dad.

"Should we go to the front to see the start or the end see the photo finish?" Roland asked, trying to look past the crowd.

"The start and end are at the same point." Hilda explained to her brother.

Roland chuckled to his sister, "Oh right, seems I forgot."

Lexus looked around at an opening where she saw a small stand, the sign read 'Choco Balls'. Her eyes sparkled at the chocolate sweets, and shook her mother's hand. "Mommy, they have chocolate over there, can I get some?"

Hilda looked down to her daughter, then over where the stand was. Her expression showed some hesitation to answer, but Roland beat her to it. "Sure, Lexi, make sure to get me some." He told, handing her some currency.

"Thanks!" Lexus nodded and ran off over, making sure to be careful of bumping into anyone.

Hilda gave her brother a look, he caught it and shrugged. "What? She'll be fine, it's only a few feet away. Can you see her?"

"More like a few yards." Hilda argued, crossing her arms. "Should've walked with her, at least."

"Hilda," Roland sighed, reaching back to scratch his neck. "You can't keep a leash on her for so long. If you keep doing this, she'll soon want to stay further away from you."

She at first glared her brother at his lecturing, but she sighed looking toward the chocobo gates. "I just want her to have a safe normal life. Living in this city would be perfect for her."

Roland frowned. "Woah Hilda, are you planning to take her away from her happy life in Duscae?" When she didn't answer, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Does Varin know about this plan?"

Hilda shrugged, and shook her head. "Once this race is over, he should retire from racing and have us all move here."

"Sis, I know the war is getting worse. Tenebrae being taken- but King Regis would never let the empire invade the city, or Lucis. This event is to help the dark times, so let those thoughts leave you just for today, please?" Roland looked to her pleadingly.

Lexus got two bags of Choco Balls, smiling big, as she tucked one under her arm and opened the other to eat them. She made a mistake of not watching where she was going, too excited for her treat, that she pumped right into someone, almost dropping her bags.

"Whew, that was close."

"That's all you got to say, kid?"

Lexus looked up seeing some kids around their teen years, three boys- or punks at this point by their clothing. All dark torn clothing, chains hanging from their jeans and their expressions held aggravation.

Lexus gulped, "Um, s-sorry." She walked around them to continue her way back to her mom and uncle. When she got back, she found her father there, he wore his racing gear with goggles hung around his neck. "Daddy!"

Varin grinned and knelt down, "There's my little chocobo!" He picked her up and gave her a tight hug. "Oh, whatcha got there?"

"Choco Balls! Want some?" She asked, offering her opened bag.

"Oh, don't mind if I do." He plucked a chocolate ball from the bag and tossed it into his mouth.

Lexus giggled, then gasped as Roland took his bag from her arm. "Daddy, where's your good luck charm?"

Varin nodded, placing his hand to where it would be around his neck. "That's why I'm here, honey. Think you can run back to the bar and get me the necklace?"

"Varin, the race starts any second. Can't you just go on without it?" Hilda asked, bending over to her daughter and knelt down husband.

Varin waved it off, looking up to his wife. "The race doesn't start for another few minutes, don't worry. There checking the track for now." He placed his hands on Lex's shoulders smiling at her. "Hurry back and be careful, alright?"

Lexus nodded and handed him her bag, in turn Roland gave her the keys. Lexus bolted off, going as fast as her little legs would go to get her father's precious charm. Turning down some streets and almost jumping into traffic, thankfully not many people were on the streets from the event. She made it to the bar, unlocking the door and running up the stairs to her parent's room. There she found the black feather necklace resting on the bedside drawer. Lexus picked it up, and put it around her neck, she let her fingers go against the feather. Still soft, she smiled and turned to return to her dad. Locking the bar, Lexus started running back making a sharp turn only to be knocked down to the pavement.

"S-Sorry." She mumbled, sitting up to get back to her feet.

"Oh, it's you again, brat." Lexus looked up, her heart sank finding to have ran right into the teens from before.

A tall one with spiky blue hair picked Lexus up by the scruff of her shirt and put her against the wall. Lexus yelped as her back made contact in a painful manner, her tiny body shook in fear. "P-Please, I need to get back." She begged, as the teen held her tighter.

"Get back? To that stupid chicken race?" One of them asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Hey, what's that around her neck, dude?" The one with a spike collar lifted the necklace seeing the feather. "A black feather? Well, this seems cool to wear."

Lexus then started to struggle under the boy's grip. "No! It's my daddy's lucky charm! He needs it for the race!" She cried, gripping the necklace from the boy's hands to keep them from taking it.

"Is daddy gonna come and save you, little girl?"

"Haha! She's gonna cry!"

Tears stung her eyes, as they leaked in the corners threatening to fall. She wished, prayed someone would come help her.

"H-Hey!"

The group turned to see a chubby kid no older than Lexus, he looked angry but some fear could be seen in his eyes. Lexus had no idea who this kid was, his blond hair and blue eyes behind the glasses wasn't familiar to her at all. Here this kid who was just as scared as she was, trying to help.

"Hey Chubbers, why not just go find a taco stand and mind your own business?" One boy asked, giving the kid a glare.

One lifted his fist, "Maybe he wants to share a beating like this girl?"

Suddenly a flash blinded the three, one let go of Lexus to rub his eyes. Lexus herself was blinded by the random flash. Where did it come from? Getting her sight back, she looked to the blond kid seeing him with a camera. Oh, he used his flash to blind the bullies! She ran over to the kid, going behind him.

"That's it, you asked for it!"

Lexus looked at the blond boy, seeing he had just froze in fear. She pressed the flash button on his camera and blinded the teens again. With their chance, she took the boy's hand and ran off as fast as her legs and his stamina could allow.

Once found it safe to stop, Lexus leaned against the a street pole catching her breath. Though looking at the blond boy, he looked like he was about to black out laying on the pavement.. "T-Thanks." She panted out.

The kid was still wheezing to breath, he looked to her but then looked away fixing his glasses. Lexus got a good look at the kid, he was fairly big for his age but he seemed younger than her. She didn't expect this kid, whoever he was, to save her.

"Thank you." She said properly, he looked over seeing her smile. "You almost got hurt, though."

He sat up -with a big of a struggle- and got to his feet. "...I just did what I thought would be right." He mumbled, looking down.

"Well, I'm glad you did." Lexus walked over to him, hands behind her back. "I'm Lexus, by the way." A hand shot out to him, wanting a proper greeting.

The boy blushed, as he held the girl's smaller hand. "P-Prompto." He stuttered, giving her a gentle shake.

Lexus giggled, "Well, what 'prompt' timing you had, Prompto." She joked, putting a hand to her chin. The boy, Prompto, felt his cheeks get warmer as he smiled shyly at her.

"I better get going. Hope we meet again, Prompto!" She turned and ran down the street to get back to the race.

Prompto watch her run off, he looked down to his hands after shaking her own. His face felt warm thinking of the girl, he then went to his camera looking at the photos taken during the scuffle. There was one Lexus in it. Pine green hair, and blue eyes, she wouldn't be hard to see again he hoped.

* * *

"Mommy! Uncle Roland!"

Hilda and Roland turned finding Lexus squeezing through the crowd that was now loud and cheering. Roland picked her right up as she held up the necklace. "I got daddy's charm!"

"Ah, honey, the race started a few minutes ago. Where were you?" Hilda asked, fixing her bangs that was a bit of a mess.

Lexus' face fell, "No, daddy needs his charm!" she struggled out of her uncle's arm and started shuffling through to the front of the race hearing her mother call her to come back.

She had to give her dad the charm! He always spoke fondly of it, how important it was to him. Lexus felt herself get tighter as she made her way through, finally felt herself get against the railing. She heard the bell ring, meaning they were coming around the bend. Lexus held out the necklace, just as she saw a red blur coming around the corner. Her smile went wide, her father was in the lead!

"Daddy!" She cheered, as he made the sharp turn.

That's when it all came crashing down- literally. The turn seemed to be too sharp for Ferris to handle on the asphalt. His claws scratched to get a grip, but fate had other plans. Ferris lost his balance, falling to the side, Varin gripped the reins to keep his balance. But he couldn't hold on, as he went flying against the ground. It only got worst from their, as the sound of the stampeding birds came closer and closer.

Before Varin to move out of the way or anyone could stop the birds, Lexus witnessed her father in the worse racing accident. This day would change the Quintin family's lives forever.


	3. Chapter 3

"What!? Another shift?"

"Your uncle needs to let you live like a real teenager, Lexy!"

The pine haired seventeen year old chuckled at her friends as they walked from classes. "What can I say, he needs help on the weekends." She sheepishly excused to her friends, as they tried to get her to hang out for the umpteenth time.

One crossed her arms and pouted as they stopped at a street corner. "Come on, Lexy. Your uncle owes you for helping him all the time. And during the week, you're always working at that bike shop. At least ask him? It is your birthday, after all."

"Sure, thing." The street light changed, Lexy took off waving to her friends. "I'll text you tonight!"

Six years have past, Lexus has become a citizen of the city Insomnia living with her uncle Roland. It was a hard adjustment at first, but with her uncle's support she managed to maintain a normal life.

"I'm home!" Lexus called as she entered the bar, some regular customers smiled as they were being served by Roland behind the bar.

"Hey, little Lexy is back- Ohh, maybe not so little anymore." One teased as she approached them. The man grinned nudging his friend. "Eighteen years, she grew up so fast!"

The drinking buddy chuckled, "I'd be crying seeing my precious girl already an adult."

Roland glared his friends, "Hey, don't remind me." he turned away wiping his eyes. "I miss the little sweetheart that was my Lexus."

The teen frowned at the men, hand on her hip. "Old people are weird."

"Hey, respect your elders." One whined as he took a sip of his questionable glass.

Lexus waved it off and went behind the bar giving her uncle a kiss on the cheek. He smiled at her gesture as she helped clean some dishes. "Wouldn't you rather go out with friends than stay here and help and old man like me?"

She chuckled glancing to him. His age may have risen and some lines on his face proved it, but he was the same uncle who raised half her life. "It gets busy on weekends, besides I see them enough at classes during the week."

"Your birthday is this weekend though, shouldn't you spend it with friends?" He asked, leaning on the counter.

"Yeah, how about that kid Roland told us about?" One of the guys asked, snapping his fingers to help trigger his mind. "Ahh, what was the name? Itsu? Ian? Ignatious?"

Lexus' hands stopped moving, Roland noticed and answered for his friend. "Ignis, right?"

"Ignis! That's it!"

"It doesn't matter what his name is." Lexus stated, giving the men a look. "I haven't seen him since I was a kid, he clearly didn't want to be my friend."

"We don't know that." Roland tried to excuse. "It was a hectic day, after all.."

"...Yeah, it was."

Eight years ago- eight years ago was when Lexus' life changed. The day of the race, she was to watch her father claim victory with her mother, uncle, and first friend Ignis. Though when she returned from fetching his precious lucky charm, her father got into an accident. The weight of a chocobo is heavy enough, their claws are damaging alone. But when seven of them come barreling around a corner at high speed with no way of stopping, Varin was lucky to live that day.

He became paralyzed from the waist down, his racing career ended from then on. When it came to living in the city, it just wasn't enough for Varin. He never left the bedroom, staying in bed needing help from his brother-in-law and wife. It broke him, but mostly broke his heart for his daughter seeing him like this. While Hilda wanted to stay in the city claiming it'd be better for them, Varin wanted to go back to Liede. The decision was split, Lexus stayed in the city with Roland by her mother's request. When it came to her father's word, he agreed breaking Lexus' heart.

Seven years; seven years ago her parents left her as did her first friend.

"Hey, you're scrubbing too hard."

Lexus came back from her daze, seeing she was giving a mug scratch marks. "Oh, sorry." She placed it to the side, and took a towel to dry her hands. "I'm going to go get some homework done." Lexus took her bag and trotted up the stairs.

* * *

Lexus got out of the bathroom just fresh from a warm shower after dinner. Going into her room with a fluffy white towel around her body, and her long hair grown down to her back was under a towel being dried. The little Lexus grew up, but a lot of people mistook her for a middle school student for her young face. She sighed, sitting on her bed and picking up her phone finding a text. A frown came upon her face seeing it was her friends from today.

'Did you ask your uncle yet? Yes or no?'

Lexus put it down, not really wanting to respond. It wasn't that she didn't like her friends, she just prefer to help her uncle. She noticed he was forgetting things recently, from who he was serving to what drinks go with what mixes. Lexus pondered if it was old age or he was stressed over her well being too much.

A knock came onto the door, "Lexus?"

"Ah, just one moment." She changed into a white long sleeve with a black tank top over it, and black sweat pants. Lexus put her hair into a bun and opened the door seeing her uncle there. "Whats up?"

He came in looking down at her, he sighed with a smile. "I'm gonna close the bar this weekend."

She was taken aback by this, Lexus crossed her arms frowning at him. "Does this have to do with me not going out?"

"Actually, a couple of old buddies wanted to go out somewhere. Haven't seen in ages, wanted to catch up, y'know?"

"Well, so long as it doesn't have to do with me." She figured shrugging.

Roland grinned, "But that leaves you to be free, right?"

Lexus slapped his arm. "I knew it, it does have to do with me!"

He chuckled, shoving her arm. "It's true though! If you prefer to be here alone, I'll still be here in time to celebrate your birthday."

Lexus pouted turning away, she honestly might just stay home. Roland let out a laugh and patted her head, "You'll have a great eighteenth birthday, not wanting to spend it with old geezers, right?" Roland looked to her, seeing past him on her desk was a beige cloth. His smile faded, looking down at his precious niece.

"I'm sure you'll see him again, I can tell." He muttered, pressed a hand to her back. "You said he was someone that was hard to miss, and same goes for you."

Lexus sighed, going over picking up the cloth. "It's been eight years, Uncle Roland. He probably forgot all about me, as did my parents." Her grip tightened as her head lowered. "I doubt they'd make a surprise visit for my eighteenth birthday."

That's what worried Roland, people forgetting her. Ignis, her parents… himself. It was true, her parents hadn't event sent a happy birthday call or a card- something. He stepped over to his fragile niece, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close to him. "No one could forget you."

Lexus turned and hugged her uncle back, she looked up at him with a smile. "Thanks."

"Of course, cupcake." He smiled, and gently pinched her cheek. "Now tell your friends you will be spending your birthday with them."

The teen whined, waving her arms out childishly. "Alright, alright! I'll go!"

* * *

Lexus nervously walked down the street wearing a ruffled skirt and tank top with her bag. Her friends invited her to spend the day out, and finally said yes. "He's not wrong." She told herself making a turn. "I'll be leaving school soon, then from there where do I go?"

Stay and work as a barmaid for her uncle? Maybe leave the city and travel Lucis? Possible even-

"Whoa!"

Lexus had dazed out again, pumping her shoulder into someone. "Oh, jeez, my bad." She waved and continued her way.

* * *

The boy she had pumped into watched her walk off crossing the street. Pine hair, could it be-

"Prompto?"

The skinny tall blond boy turned seeing his friend waiting for him. He crossed the road, causing a car to blare his horn at him. "Sorry!" He called and stopped right by his friend.

The black haired boy looked at his friend who glanced back down the road. "Something catch your eye?"

Prompto turned to Noctis with a grin, "Just thought I saw something familiar." He scratched the back of his head, earning a joking shove.

"So, to the arcade?"

"You know it!"

* * *

The teen hoped she wasn't running late, already noon when they were to have lunch by then. "Maybe I should've taken my motorbike." She pondered, then found her two friends standing in front of the foot stands.

"Hey, there's Lexus!"

Lexus walked faster, careful of her steps with her heels. "Sorry if I was late, took the long route." Once she approached the girls, she noticed three guys with them. Never had Lexus seen these guys, they looked to be… older than the teens. Were they college students?

"You're not late, Lexy! Just in time!" Her curly brunette friend, Kathy, came over to Lexus leaning to her ear.

"These guys joined us, they're in their twenties!" She pointed to each one, starting with a blond in a ponytail, "That's Lukas," then to the spiky dark haired one, "that's Felix,' and to the brown haired boy. "and that's Milo."

"So, they _are_ older." She confirmed nodding. "But, we're still going to the mall and eating out, right?"

Her blonde friend, Christie, came over. "Yes, yes. They heard it was your birthday and wanted to join.

"So, they do know I'm eighteen and you guys are sixteen right?" When the girls looked to one another, Lexus crossed her arms. "..You didn't."

"We told them you were turning twenty-one and that we were eighteen." The two girls clasped their hands together. "Please, just for a bit! We'll get you whatever you want for your birthday, in exchange."

Lexus was now regretting on leaving her safe haven that was the bar. She wouldn't have even minded to join her uncle and his friends. Lexus sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as her hair hung around her shoulders. "..Fine, but you owe me the most expensive gift I find."

The girls smiled and thanked Lexus going back to the guys confirming it was okay. Inside, Lexus didn't know how to say no. She wanted to say 'No, I don't want them to join us' or just tell the guys they're real ages. Her eyes went down to her wrist, the beige cloth was around it look like an accessory. She didn't know why, but she wore it today feeling secure with it near. Her fingers of her other hand rubbed the fabric between her fingers.

"So, it's your birthday?" Her blue eyes traveled up to see the boys around her, her friends on each side of a boy but the middle one, Milo. "You don't look twenty-one."

She caught the eyes of her friends, forgetting for a split second the ruse she was to play. "..O-Oh! I get that a lot! Hehe!" She chuckled nervously, hands folded behind her back. "So, up for lunch?"

They all agreed and walked around the market to get some lunch. The girls at times saw foods they liked, but ignored it when the boys claimed they weren't appealing. Lexus hated this about Christie and Kathy;, anytime a guy was around they would do anything to get them to like them. Though she didn't expect them to use her birthday as one of these chances. When they found some place they all agreed on, the Christie and Kathy ended up ordering a small salad. Lexus ordered a slice of pizza, as the guys got burgers.

"You sure you girls don't want anything else?" Lukas asked, seeing they were already finished their meals.

"Yea, we don't want to gain too much weight." The blonde excused, sipping her water.

Lexus rolled her eyes eating the crust of her pizza. Milo middle grinned at her meal. "Aren't you worried about _your_ weight?"

Lexus put on a smile. "Not really, I do jogs before class-" The two girlfriends nearly choked on their water. Oh jeez, she just admitted being a high school student.

"Class?" He asked, then Felix chuckled.

"College class? What are you majoring in?"

Lexus hadn't even recovered from her faux pas by the time the question was given But she put her drink down and gave her usual smile. "Bet you can't guess."

The lunch went okay, and the group ventured to the mall. As they passed by the food court, Lexus noticed an arcade with a few teens and kids there. She liked to play the racing games in there, made her think of the days of her father racing chocobos. Her eyes went to the others who were chatting passing by the arcade.

"Um, can we stop here?" They all turned seeing Lexus gesturing to the arcade to her right. "I like playing the racing games in there."

Lexus noticed the grimace looks on her friend's faces, this was something she wanted to do for her birthday. Was it so wrong for someone her age or the guys' age to play games?

"Hey, maybe they got some new shooter games in there." The Felix suggested trotting inside.

"Such a child." Lukas said following after with Milo. He glanced to Lexus and followed in.

Lexus raised a brow at him, but she and the girls followed inside. Some kids and teens played at the skeeballs, basketball shoots, and some zombie games. The three guys went straight to a shooting game, all debating who would go first. The girls didn't seem interested, so they decided to watch. Lexus herself looked around, finding the racing biker games. With a eager smile, she trotted over and sat down putting in some coins.

"Mind a partner?" Lexus looked to her right seeing Milo, hands shoved in his black jean pockets. He gave her a wink, "Should it be alright straddling a bike like that in in a skirt?"

Lexus glanced to her skirt, she found no trouble with it. "Feel free to race, though I _will_ beat you."

The boy smirked, and got onto the opposing bike. "You're on, birthday girl."

Lexus found no problem balancing the bike when leaning on either side to make her turns. Milo had some long legs, struggling a bit to keep his legs up and balance in check. Soon, the four returned and watched the racing, the girls cheering on Milo instead of Lexus. What was with them, she thought. But in the end.

**Player 1, wins!**

Lexus shot her arms in the air, "Yes! Winner winner, chicken dinner!" she cheered.

Milo scoffed, lifting his leg over the side to lean on the bike. "I let you win, birthday girl."

Said teen got off and crosses her arm, grinning at him. "Yea, hitting that wall four times was letting me win. Sure thing."

Kathy giggled, almost in an annoying tone. "That was so cool of you, Milo. Lexus hates losing, she gets all angry and has a tantrum when she losses."

Lexus gave a look to her friend, this was getting on her nerves. "I don't get that bad." She defended.

Milo smirked and leaned over the bike into Lexy's personal space. "Would I like to see that face on you."

What did that mean? Lexus stepped away, walking over to see other games. "I'm gonna play some shooter games." She excused, seeing two boys playing one of the two shooting games.

Before reaching there, her arm was tugged back by Milo. "Hey, can't spend your entire birthday playing games. Besides, those guys have claimed that section."

She was going to protest, but the looks the girls sent her sealed her lips. Why was she so obedient to them?

The group walked around the mall for a while longer. Lexus spotted a store that was selling key-chains, she wandered over spotting a moogle and chocobo key-chain. The moogle looked to be riding it, the birds big blue eyes made her smile.

"Excuse me?" She called to the vendor. "How much is this key chain?"

"Oh, spotted my exclusive carnival token, eh?" The old man asked smiling at her.

"What? The, _The_ Moogle Chocobo Carnival?" Her eyes widened, finding this key-chain more of a treasure then some accessory.

The man nodded, "Long ago, I won this little thing when I was no younger than you. It's given me great luck through these years."

"Why sell it?" She asks, tilting her head curiously.

He let out a chuckle mixed with laughter. "My years of luck are over, time for it to give another some needed luck." The man picked up the key chain, holding it up as it slowly spun on its strap.

"I have no children to pass it down too, and I see your eye caught it as a special item compared to anyone else who would even blink at it." He waved his arm, imitating those who shopped there. "A small toy, they call it. Mere waste of a trinket, they claimed."

Lexus shook her head, a soft smile toward the key-chain as he placed it back down on the table. "My father was a great chocobo racer years ago. I pretty much grew up with them, living at a post." Her smile faded, as her finger pressed against the cool small metal outlining the bird. "He got into an accident, rendering his legs useless…"

The old man stroked the hair on his chin, and smiled to the girl. "Take it." She stood straight reaching for her wallet in her bag, he held his hand up. "Don't think of it. Someone with such a large heart as yours deserves more than I do at my age."

Lexus didn't know what to say, she just bowed her head with a shy 'thanks'. The smile gave a toothy grin, and picked the trinket and held it out for her. She took it, and smiled back at the man widely. "Thank you, sir. This is the best birthday gift."

"Happy birthday!" He told her, bowing his head back in thanks. "Take care, young one."

Now much happier with her gift, she looped it onto her phone and beamed seeing it hang off it. She'd take the best care for it, she swore.

"Lexus! Come on!" Called one of the girls, she jogged to keep up even if inside she wanted to go the opposite way.

* * *

"Is it already dinner time?" Kathy asked as they walked along the streets seeing the sun start to fade over the tall buildings.

"What restaurant was it you wanted to eat at, Lexus?" Christie asked, hanging on Felix's arm.

"Hey, how about we treat you women to a bar?" Milo suggested walking by Lexus, who didn't like that idea.

"Milo, these two are still only eighteen, remember?" Lukas reminded with Kathy by his side.

Lexus laughed to herself, "Yea, besides I-"

"Wait! Lexus' uncle owns a bar, you said he's out for the night right?" Kathy told with a grin on her face.

The birthday girl nodded hesitantly. "Oh well, that's true. But we shouldn't."

"Alright, party at the birthday girl's bar! Free drinks!" Christie cheered and the two girls lead the way.

All the while, Lexus just couldn't find her voice to protest against all the was happening. Her uncle would _kill_ her if he caught her touching his alcohol, let alone giving it away willy nilly. If she voiced her thoughts now, would they get mad and leave her? Lexus after all these years still didn't understand friendship. Was it doing things one enjoyed together, or doing what others liked despite others didn't favor them? She tried to think back on things her two friends did for her, not much came to mind. Some memories of them claiming it was for her own good; like sneaking out at night -or attempting to only to chicken out-, stealing their makeup back from the teacher's desk only to get caught.

Her head lowered as more memories brought back unpleasant times. Wasn't there someone who was a real friend to her?

" _My name's Ignis."_

He- Ignis as was her one true friend. Only met twice and he was out of her life.

" _That was prompt timing of you, Prompto!"_

And even that chubby boy, who saved her from those bullies. It may have been a short time, but he was a kind person to her.

Maybe, Lexus thought, maybe she wasn't meant to have friends- good friends.

"Lexus, we need your keys." Kathy said, holding her hand out expectantly.

Her eyes lifted from the ground finding that they stood in front of the bar and her home. With a sigh, she shook her head. "I-I think it'd be better if I just went to bed."

"What?" Kathy questioned with a raised brow.

"Don't end the fun just when it's starting, Lexus." Christie whined.

Lexus moved to the door taking her keys out. "Hey, I'm tired and my uncle could be home any moment. It's best to just-"

Her keys were suddenly snatched from her hands, and shoved into the lock. The door swung open with Milo cheering, "We're in!" shoving Lexus inside as the others followed in suit.

She stumbled a bit as the guys made a beeline for the bar, jumping over the counter and going into the cabinet. Milo shook the handles, noticing it was locked he looked over Lexus' keys. "What? There's only two keys and they don't go to this lock. Where's the key to this?"

"I don't have it, my uncle is the only one who has them." She told, hoping to just get them out and go to bed.

"Hey!" Cried out Christie who was ducking behind the counter, she stood up holding two bottles of booze. "I found a stash!" Maybe not.

"Alright!" They cheered, Lexus rubbed her arms as they got the glasses out. They were gonna drain down his supply, she needs to tell them to stop.

* * *

Of course, no words left her lips. Maybe chugs and shots later, and the girls were red faced and dazed. They leaned on their (un)respective guys at a booth while Lexus started putting away whatever was left of the alcohol.

"How am I going to explain this?" She asked herself, seeing the bottles not even worth using for customer service. Her own uncle wouldn't even drink out of it.

Lexus tipped one of the bottles over to pour them out into the sink, when a glass came under it saving it from going down the drain. She stopped pouring, and turned to see Milo leaned over her to get his fresh drink. He leaned back and winked to her, "Thanks sexy."

Lexus turned away about to properly pour the stuff, when a hand stopped it from tipping completely over.

"He-y, birthday girl didn't get to have any." He sang, taking the bottle from her and putting his now empty glass down.

"I-I don't want any, I don't like alcohol." In truth, she obviously never had it before thanks to her uncle's rules.

"Ohhhh, come on." He whined, his hands squeezed her cheeks making her mouth open up. Milo pressed the bottle top to her lips, and tilted it forcing the remaining alcohol to fill her mouth. Unable to spit it out with the bottle pressed to her mouth, she swallowed the horrible stuff. It burned down her throat, wanting to spit it back out even to vomiting it out.

Finally she slapped the bottle away from, as it clinked to the floor. "So disgusting!" She cried, passing by him to go upstairs not feeling well.

"Whoa, fun's not over yet." Milo grabbed her arm and pulled her back, only to pushed her against the wall of the staircase, her wrist held tightly.

"Let me go, M-Milo!" She demanded, feeling her body shiver with fear as he lowered his face toward her own.

"Ohhh! Girl is getting a birthday gift!" Felix cheered raising his empty glass, an arm around Christie from his face buried in her neck.

Lexus took her free hand to pray his off her wrist, his other hand grabbed it keeping it at the side. "No! I just want to go to bed." She turned her face trying to keep as far from his as possible.

"Bed, eh? You don't hesitate one bit." He growled, and without warning picked Lexus up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Get em, tiger!"

"Go Lexus!"

Lexus kicked and cried, her eyes burning as her body shook in fear. What was happening?! When did she lose control of everything? She was terrified, he was planning to have her way with her!

Mom! Dad! Someone help!

"No! Stop it!" She screamed, banging on his back and struggling to get out and away from Milo.

" **What is going on here!?"**

Everyone froze, anyone who wasn't unconscious turned to find the owner, uncle, and guardian Roland standing in the doorway. His face was twisted with rage, shoulders tense his hands tightly clenched at his side.

"If I don't see this place empty in two seconds, I won't hesitate to punish every single one of you."

A meek 'uh-oh' was hard from one of the girls, they as well as the two boys shuffled out. Milo dropped Lexus on the steps, and ran out. Roland slammed the door, and rushed to Lexus who was curled up on the stares. Her eyes wide in shock, arms wrapped around herself as tears heavily streaked down her face dropping into her lap. Shoulder shook violently, only whimpers and small sobs would escape her lips. Roland looked down at her precious niece with guilt and anger, he blamed himself of this.

"Lexy.." He knelt down, reaching out to her shoulders. When she didn't recoil at the touch, he pulled her close and held her tightly to his chest. "I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have pressured you to go out when you didn't want to." His hand caressed the back of her head, holding her closer as she hid her face in his shoulder.

"I promised your mother to protect you, and I-"

"Uncle Roland?"

Finally, words were spoken. He pulled back, moving strands of her hair from her face to see her expression. Her eyes were calmer- no, they were now narrowed, brows low and a frown on her face. Her blue eyes looked into his as she stated these words to him, clear and solid.

"Teach me how to fight."


	4. Chapter 4

Lexus was given a chance in her life, to change it for her own. It's this that made her realize that someone might not always be there to save her. If her uncle hadn't arrived- she didn't even want to think of it.

The teenager slept in her bed, curled up in her blankets and head snuggled into her pillow. Without warning, the door slammed open with the bellow of her uncle.

"Rise and shine, soldier!" He called, going to her curtains and shoving them apart to let the early sun rays hit her face.

"What!? What?" Squinting her eyes open, she shut them back immediately with regret burned by the light. "Ack! A simple knock would have sufficed!"

"No can do. So, you remember last night?" He asked standing over her, with hands on his hips.

" How could I?" She groaned, rubbing her eyes. How could she forget a nightmare of a birthday like that?

Lexus blinked at him now seeing his garbs. He usually wore a simple black shirt with his bar logo on it and tattered jeans with sandals. Today he was dressed in a black tank with some logo on the corner she'd never seen before and black sweats with sneakers. The beanie hat still hung on his head, covering his forehead to where his hairline would be.

"Uh, what's with the get up? Going on a jog?" Lexus asked.

"Close, but we're actually going to start your training. Wear something physical and join me outside." Roland turned and left shutting, the door to let her change.

Physical, huh? Deciding something light, she got on some thin joggers and tank top with some usual sneakers. Looking at herself in the mirror, she half turned making sure it was alright. Lexus moved closer seeing her hair was a mess, she grabbed a brush and got the tangles out putting it in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. Deeming herself well dressed, she walked to her desk getting her phone. Lexus spotted the handkerchief and charm she got yesterday resting on her desk. Taking in some hair, she took the handkerchief folding it and tying it around her neck hiding the embroidery made on it long ago. The memory made her spirit feel a bit deflated, but she couldn't explain to herself why she'd need it today.

"Come on! I doubt you're putting your makeup on!" Her uncle called from below.

"Of course not!" She barked back, focusing on her hair.

Once done, she attached the charm to her phone and left the room to meet with her uncle.

The day started out jogging wherever her uncle was taking her. Lexus was not physically out of shape, but with the chilly early morning air and erupt awake from sleep, she was slower than her pepped up uncle. They crossed streets, passed cafes, and almost raced traffic. Which was denied by an out of breath Lexus.

The jog lasted until the sun reached midway past the sky, leading it to be near noon. Lexus assumed they were jogging endlessly with no destination, so she wasn't too surprised when he let her take a five minute break, right outside the gates of the Royal Citadel. She leaned against a street light, her eyes gazing up at the tall enormous building. The building where King Regis and his son lived. The bright light streaming high up, the source of the protective shield surrounding the city. The people felt safe and praised how secure they were seeing that dome of a shield everyday. Lately, the teenager has been seeing it as a cage more than anything. It was the one thing that made her mother want to move the family to Insomnia, but now Lexus was stuck here instead.

She sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead, feeling her hair grow loose from the ponytail. The guards standing by the gated entrance gave the two a look, one of them turned and left toward the guard station to the left. It's not like they were trespassing, were they not allowed this close to the gates?

"How much further?" She asked, reaching up to redo her hair.

Her uncle grinned, "Oh, our jogging is done. Just waiting." he said.

"For my break to be over?" Lexus asked, wincing as she rubbed her aching calves.

Before he could answer, one of the guards that had walked off early stood before them. She felt her sweat start up again, nervous sweat. Were they about to be kicked off or threatened? Her uncle seemed pleased, a comical smile as the guard approached him.

"Did my message get through?" He asked, Lexus' brows knotted. Message?

The guard nodded. "He's waiting for you inside. Do you know th-"

"Ah, just a small escort to the front doors if you don't mind." Roland waved him off, and gave him a hefty pat on the shoulder. Lexus stood rigid, despite the questionable friendliness between the two. "Don't want to be seen as a trespasser, right?"

"Understood." The guard turned and walked toward the gate as it opened for them to enter.

Roland turned to her shocked and confused niece, and raised his brows expectedly. She blinked and shook herself from the shock to follow her eager uncle and the guard through the gate.

The television didn't do justice on how majestic the courtyard was. Her eyes scanned at the large building towering above them as they grew closer than she ever imagined to be. They crossed the roundabout, where vehicles alike circled to pick up and drop off the royal family. Her blue hues traveled down, her brain noting to be careful where to walk, as she found a monument into the center of the roundabout. She paused to take a better look as the sun beat on the carved stone; the royal insignia was seen with the King's name in-scripted at the bottom. King Regis Lucis Caelum. Her brain has registered, she wasn't in some museum, she was on literal royal property!

"Lexy!" Her head shot up, seeing her uncle call her as he climbed the stairs- the _royal_ stairs! He walked up each step as if walking up his own staircase at home!

"W-Wait up!" She called, stepping around the monument and running over to the bottom of the steps. She hesitated, but jogged up as fast as possible as if she'd be in trouble for taking too long to climb them.

The guard was speaking to two others that stood in front of the two large archway doors to the citadel itself. Her breathing was ragged, be it from mental panic or her useless run up the steps. Roland grinned, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatpants.

"Some place, ain't it?" He asked, as if he was looking at some nobody business building.

Lexus gaped at him, "Are you aware where we are right now?" she questioned in hushed panic. Her eyes jutting at the talking guards, thinking raising her voice was not ideal.

Roland shrugged. "Yup."

"You realize we are right outside the Citadel?"

"Seems so."

"And that you just somehow convinced a royal guard to allow us entry to the courtyard!?"

He chuckled, the proud grin still plastered to his features. "I wouldn't say convince, but whatever floats your boat."

"Roland!" The two looked at the doors, seeing a man dressed guard clothing- Not just any royal guard. It was the Crownsgaurd uniform! "You're late!"

Late?

The man with well combed back dark hair and a small scar or two across his chin eagerly walked over, pulling Roland into a hug. Lexus stepped back, visibly confused to the point her head was swimming. Why was this man hugging her uncle? How does he know her uncle? Why did this man say we're late? Late for what!?

"Ah well, you try to get a teenager out of bed to go jogging for a few hours." He joked, giving a few hard pats to the man's back.

The man pulled back from the hug, his amber eyes staring fondly at Roland as he looked him over. "You've aged, friend."

Roland punched his shoulder, Lexus nearly gasped at the notion. "I'm retired! I'm allowed to look like shit!"

The man laughed and nodded, "True! True!" he agreed.

His bright eyes turned to Lexus, making her go stiff at his eyes boring at her. She saw the two scars on his chin, but then noticed a distinct one where his… right ear should be. It was just… gone, only ragged scarred skin left. He didn't look her over with any threat or intimidation, but as if seeing another family member for the first time.

"So, this is the infamous Lexus I've heard about." He stepped toward her, she refrained from stepping back as he stood over her. He tilted his head this way and that, then grinned widely and placed a gloved hand on her shoulder.

"Roland, you ass!" He suddenly cursed toward her uncle. "She has no clue, does she? Poor thing is shaking like a leaf! You'd think she was blasted by Shiva herself!"

Roland sheepishly chuckled, the man laughed deeply. It was all jokes and fun, but Lexus couldn't take it.

"What the hell is actually going on right now!?"

* * *

After entering the citadel and having a fresh glass of water, Lexus was semi calm enough to listen to the two men before her. They sat down at the cushy benches along the wall of a large openly spaced room. Armor stood between each bench, the sun shining through high windows illuminating the room. The room was a bit chilly, assuming one of the windows were open, though it was warmer outside by this point of the day. She felt a small breeze above her, now realizing the room had air conditioning. Roland and the man, who she still had yet to learn his name, were standing by with her, not saying a word to let her relax. She drank the entire glass, not noticing how dehydrated she was from the morning run.

"You really worked her out this morning, Roland." The man chuckled, taking the empty glass from her.

Roland nervously nodded, looking apologetically to his niece. "I guess I was really focused on us getting here.

Lexus looked between them, and cleared her throat. "Um, I still need to ask- Why are we here and how are we allowed to be?" Her eyes fell on the man standing before her. "And, who are you?"

The man bowed his head at her, "My apologies, I'm just as guilty from the excitement of your visit than Roland was." He stood straight and folded his hands behind his back. "I'm an old friend of Roland here, Ajax Oswin, at your service." He bows deeper at her, as if she was royalty herself.

"...Old friend?" Her questioning eyes fell to her uncle who now held a look of remorse.

"I never told you, as requested by your mother. I was part of the Crownsgaurd years ago, I've been retired since I nearly died. As given by the King himself." He told rubbing his neck, treating this like he had forgotten to clean the dishes.

Lexus took in his words, then shot up to her feet in utter shock. "What!? W-What- Why would mom… I mean, it's sort of a… Kind of a… _big_ deal to know you're uncle was a Crownsgaurd!"

Roland nodded in agreement, taking a step toward her and placing a hand on her shoulder. Not wanting her to panic like before again. "I contacted my old bud here, Ajax, and he owes me a favor."

Ajax subconsciously touched where the scarred part of his ear would be. "I would've lost half my head if it wasn't for your uncle, here. So, today is my payback to him."

Lexus frowned, "And that would be?" she asked.

The guard- Crownsgaurd member walked to the center of the room, and turned to them with his arms extended out like a performance. "Training!"

It was silent for a moment, only the sound of the city distant out the windows and breathing was heard. Lexus pinched her brows, her brain trying to break itself over this confusion once more.

"Wait, wait, wait… Wait!" She glanced up, pointing a finger at her uncle.

"When you meant you were going to train me from last night, I didn't think it meant at the friggin Royal Guard's Private Training Room… place!" She barked, recoiling as her voice echoed in the empty large hall. "And-And I still don't believe you are a Crownsgaurd!" She accused Roland.

"Was." He corrected, folding his arms. "I was forced to retire after an attack was assaulted on Insomnia, before you were born."

Lexus frowned deeper, her eyes scanning her uncle trying to find any ailments or handicap as to why he would be forced to retire.

"Looks like he got out unscathed, right?" Ajax asked, walked back up to them. He nodded to his old friend, "She deserves to know, Roland." he told. Lexus gave a glance noticing the smile gone from Ajax.

Hesitant, Roland's hand reached up, and gently removed the beanie from his head. At first, Lexus expected the bald head her mother always talked about him having. But, saw something else- Her hands raised up to cover her mouth, handing open at the sight. Roland was indeed hairless up top, but also what Lexus saw as a dent- no, small caving of his skull where his head should be full and round. It almost made her stomach lurch, seeing the chunk of her uncle's brain and skull just… like a dent in a car door. He showed no sign of ever struggling to do daily chores or normal life. He baffled the teenager.

"I can live a normal life, but that's it. A normal, calm, relaxing life." The beanie was gripped tightly in his fingers, despite the usual laid back tone and smile on his lips. It was like he was fighting back the horrors this injury caused and how he got it.

"The city was attacked, during the Founders Day celebration. A man arrived, summoning Ifrit to destroy the city. The Royal Guard, Crownsgaurd, and special forces fought and evacuated the people. Ajax and I were assigned to evacuate. But, a road was blocked and we had to get a few last people out to safety. The only way was toward the battle itself."

Lexus took her seat at the bench, soaking in the tale her uncle unfolded. Roland's free hand reached up, feeling the dent in his skull as he inwardly winced at the memory. Roland sighed and placed the beanie back on.

"I won't give you the gory details, not before Ajax is about to throw down some good old self defense training." Roland assured, he turned to Ajax and patted him on the arm. "Clarus still here?" He asked.

Ajax nodded, throwing a thumb over his shoulder to the door. "Should be with his son right now, they finished training here themselves when you arrived."

"Ah, he should be in a good mood then." Roland joked and sauntered out of the room, leaving Ajax to the bewildered teen.

Ajax cleared his throat, raising a challenging brow at the teen. "Well, what do you know about defending yourself?" Lexus blinked, realizing her uncle wasn't going to return anytime soon. "He informed me what happened last night, and-"

"Shameful, right? Not able to defend myself?" Lexus asked.

Ajax raised a brow, "Quite the opposite." he stepped to her and started pointing at her arms, legs, torso, and even lifted her arms and poked her calves. She felt like a doctor doing a check up. "You have thin arms, not enough muscle or strength. Judging by how out of breath you were, you seem to be out of shape-"

"Excuse me?"

He continued. "Walking to school, to work, to home- it's not enough to build up the stamina needed to prepare for one's strength."

"Wait-"

"Before we start- twenty laps."

Lexus blinked, her mouth dry. "W-What?"

Ajax went into his coat pocket and took out his phone, a beep was heard when he pressed his thumb to the screen. "Twenty laps- now."

Lexus tripped over her feet and started her sudden running around the room.

"In 10 minutes." He added. Lexus started pushing her legs faster at that.

* * *

Lexus had gained a new routine in her life she hadn't ever expected. Sure, she wanted to defend herself, but it felt more like she just applied for a private gym membership at the Citadel. She and her uncle visited the training room once a week. It was a repeated process; Get up early on her day off, morning run to the Citadel, do physical routines with Ajax. It lead from doing more laps, to push ups, leg ups, sit ups, and all the ups. She did stretches, lifting, bending, the whole package!

It was starting to dawn upon her after two months if she was ever going to learn to defend herself. Finally, that day came when she walked into the training room to find a rack of weapons along the wall by Ajax and another man with him. He was tall and not as flexed as her uncle, but wore dark gold royal robes. He was a man of higher standards! Maybe one of the advisers or a royal consort?

Roland stepped up, almost hesitant to approach in the usual friendly manner he had done so the past number of sessions. Ajax bowed to the man as he turned and walked toward the two. Roland snagged Lexus sleeve and tugged her out of the way, bowing to the man as well. Lexus felt nervous and roughly bowed her head as well. The man paused, giving the girls a look before taking his leave from the room. Once the door shut, Lexus sighed and turned to Ajax and her uncle.

"Sorry for the scare, I needed Clarus' permission to have the weapons present." Ajax explained as they approached him.

"That was Clarus?" Lexus asked, trying not to eye up the weapons too much. She heard his name thrown around between the men.

"Yeah, pretty much my boss I guess." Lexus raised a brow, Roland shook his head.

"He's Clarus Amicitia, head of the Crownsgaurd, and shield of King Regis." Roland explained.

Lexus let the words sink in, then jolted when her brain kicked into gear. "Was he going to kick us out!?"

Ajax usually would've laughed off a notion, but his sheepish look away confirmed her worries. "He just didn't understand why someone like you was coming here." He raised his hands, waving them in front of him. "I explained it all though, he understood when I told him everything. Usually his son trains with Prince Noctis here."

Lexus felt a small bolt of that jealousy she felt all those years ago. She had forgotten the prince was someone to consider running into here. "Would the Prince kick us out if he needed to train."

Ajax finally laughed, "Oh, if he ever gets his ass here!" he bellowed.

"What do you mean?" Roland asked, inspecting the weapons. No wonder he was quiet.

"Ah well-" He turned to his friend. "From what I've heard, his Highness isn't the pest student with training. Living on his own, as a normal citizen. Someone has to remind him of his heritage and future to be king."

Lexus was surprised, wanting to make sure she heard that right. "Wait, he doesn't live here?" She asked, pointing at the floor to indicate the Citadel."

"Ah, no." Ajax told, realizing he may have spoken too much. "At fifteen he moved into his own home, living a normal life as a normal teenager."

Normal? Even the prince gets to live the life how he wants? He can live in a big protected home, with his father, servants, guards, everything handed to him! Here she stood, living with her uncle, abandoned by her parents, betrayed by her friends. Does he get to have good friends? She wouldn't put it past her if he only got good grades just for being stupid royalty! Lexus felt her anger grow, wanting to punch or hit something-

"I can only imagine how Scientia is doing-"

"Can we start already?" Lexus interrupted, stomping over to check the weapons, wanting to test their weight to her growing strength. Ajax gave Roland a look, who shook his head.

Ajax was very patient with Lexus growing anger. She was unknowingly taking it out on him as she was struggling to understand each weapon and to hold them properly. She nearly cut herself trying to work the daggers and swords had to be terrified of ever slicing her arm off. She nearly stabbed the floor or fell over working polearms and any firearms were denied by Roland right off the bat. Last thing anyone needed was Lexus accidentally firing a gun in this room- with her current temper.

After all the weapons X'd out were placed back, Lexus let out a frustrated groan, her hands running through her hair. "I get the point- I _suck_ at weapons! Why can't I just learn to use my fists or kick!?"

Roland stood to speak up, wanting her to calm down, but Ajax held a hand to him. "You'd have to be much stronger to use physical strength. That's why we're using your physique and the advantage you have to use a weapon if-"

"If what? A monster ever comes running down the street? I just wanted to learn self defense!"

"And learn you are-"

"I haven't learned a single thing about defending myself!" She barked at him, though Ajax kept a calm demeanor for her. "All I've gotten was exhausted, muscle cramps, and time wasted here!"

"Lexus-"

Ajax stopped Roland a second time as he was about to scold her. "I understand, Lexus. Maybe it's time we take a break, I'll get us some tea and-"

"I don't need tea!" She barked, turning away like a child. "I just want to go home."

Roland looked to Ajax, who gave a knowing look. "Just amuse me, one cup of tea and we can end our sessions as you please." He nodded to his friend. "Mind fetching the tea, old friend?"

Roland sighed and left the room, to 'fetch' the tea. Lexus took a seat at one of the benches, arms folded and back towards the room. Ajax breathed a sigh through his nose, hands behind his back as he took careful steps to the temperamental teenager.

"Something on your mind?" He asked, when greeted with silence he tried another tactic. "Was it something I said?"

Feeling guilty for him thinking that, Lexus sighed, bringing a knee up and hugging it. "No, I'm sorry."

"No, no, perfectly fine! I understand being a teenager is hard and you have been working a lot. It's not what you expected this to be, huh?" He asked.

Lexus tilted her head, giving a glance over her shoulder before staring back at the wall. "Why do I need to learn these as if I was going to be a Crownsgaurd myself?"

Ajax glanced at the weapons, he looked back to the teen. He raised his hand, a dagger materializing in it. "Lesson one."


	5. Chapter 5

"...W-What?" Not hearing much, she turned only to gasp at the sight of Ajax coming at her with a sharp long dagger in hand.

She screamed in fear and jumped off the bench, scrambling to her feet. "W-What are you doing!?"

"Lesson one." He repeated, his one hand behind his back still as the other twirled the dagger. "Avoid your attacker at all costs."

Ajax lunged at her, she stepped back, at first expecting him to stop. When he showed no sign of doing so, she started booking it across the room.

"Okay, this isn't funny! I-I'll stop! I swear!" She begged, pressing herself against the wall hoping it will let her sink into it for safety.

"If you can not avoid your attacker, you're dead." He told, voice stern and low with seriousness now. "You have to avoid me for the next two minutes."

Lexus gaped, " _Two_ minutes!?" she raised her hands up as he stalked closer to her. "U-Uncle Roland won't like this! He- Eeep!"

The teenager hadn't anticipated how fast the Crownsgaurd had shifted from being a few feet away to nearly stabbing her. She jumped to the ground and scrambled across the floor to the door. She yanked at the doors, but they were locked in! She banged and kicked, screaming for help!

"Roland! AHH!"

The dagger Ajax had was suddenly impeded into the door right beside her head. She was sure a few strands of her hair had been sliced from the force of the throw. A shock went up her spine, he wasn't kidding around, he was for sure going to kill her. She shivered in fear as she slowly turned, Ajax glared her as he materialized a second dagger.

"Please, stop! I-I'm really terrified!" She pleased, her back pressed against the door.

"Begging won't stop your attacker. Now- MOVE!" He demanded, sending his second dagger at her. "Use your brain Roland keeps telling me you have!"

She screeched and dove for the ground, the dagger embedded into the door where she was just standing. Her brain finally kicked into gear- survival mode. She started to keep her distance once on her feet again, jumping from wall to wall, corner to corner. He would throw a dagger if Ajax found her just running in constant circles, making her run in the other direction. At times she dove and fell straight to the floor if he threw a little lower.

Lexus started to watch his moves as she maneuvered against the wall, pausing at corners. He moved slowly, step by step. Lexus noticed once he was about six or seven feet he'd throw the dagger. When he did so, he used his left hand to throw the dagger, never switching or using his right. She figured this was because he was giving her a small advantage by using only one arm. But the fact he possibly can dual wield and chose the left hand was questionable. Then an idea popped into her head, if she stayed on his right side, he would have to put more effort into turning his body. That was the only advantage she could think of.

Maneuvering around using that idea became second nature to her already, shocking enough! The determination to stay alive ran through her veins as she stuck to favoring his ride side, making him give the effort she was correct in to moving his body. This dodging and weaving was feeling like an hour long hell hole! But, eventually enough, the sixth time she slammed her shoulder to the wall, Ajax's phone beeped off the timer. His demeanor suddenly relaxed, he sighed and the dagger he called in his hand faded away into particles in the air. He fished for his phone, and pressed the button to stop the beeping.

Lexus watched as he huffed and stretched his arms this way and that, then turned to her with a grin. "You survived! Pass on Lesson One!"

The teen heaved a shaky sigh and crumbled to the ground on her legs. She felt like jello waist down and the soreness in her arms from slamming the walls and corners were starting to fade in.

"I'm alive…" Her heart pounded against her chest so much, it started to hurt, without even caring her eyes welled up and leaked like an overflowing river.

Ajax gently walked over and knelt down to her, his grin softened. "I honestly didn't want to scare you like that, but it kicked your butt into gear." Her blue bright eyes shifted to him, her lips trembled as they hung open. "The world is a scary place, both inside and outside this city. You might find yourself in worse situations if you were to ever leave Insomnia. Monsters, daemons, maybe even a few back guys or so."

Her eyes never left nor blinked, she didn't utter a word as she listened intently to the man. He was right- What if one day she wanted to travel and see her parents, reunite with them? But, then got killed by something out there. As a child, she was kept in the safety of the Chocobo Ranch in Duscae. She heard of the creatures out there, how dangerous it was to sometimes ride the chocobos off the trail or warn renters on where to take them. Her only time traveling was when she first arrived in Insomnia all those years ago, she saw some in Liede. A herd of mesmenirs or pack of dualhorn, the usual left alone creatures.

But Daemons- that was a different story.

Ajax studied her frozen demeanor and sighed, standing straight. He might have taken this method further than he intended. "If this is too much, we can stop-"

"Lesson two."

Ajax blinked and looked down at her. She roughly rubbed her eyes and wiped her face as dry as possible. Lexus got to her shaky feet and stood before him, fists clenched at her side. "You're right. One day, I want to leave this city, be it see my parents or live my own life. If I'm going to handle it by myself out there, I have to understand the dangers ahead of me."

Her eyes now were full of that determination he saw before, she bowed her head at him. "Please, continue to train me!"

Ajax gave her a soft punch to her already sore shoulders "That's what I like to hear!" He chuckled. Ajax glanced over his shoulder at the doors, it creaked open and Roland came in. "Ya hear that, Ro-Boy!? She's still in!"

Her uncle sighed and rushed over, starting to check over his niece for any injuries. In the process, she saw his concerned eyes scan all over her body. She tugged back and launched at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Roland patting her shoulder, making sure she wasn't crying. When no shuddering was felt or heard, he tightly scooped her up into a tight nit hug.

* * *

The training had resumed. Lexus found herself not only growing stronger, but more confident in herself. She was more open when she helped work at the bar and was very social when working her part time job at the bike shop. She smiled more, and her uncle was proud. He hadn't expected this to not only be a change in her daily living, but her personality as well. It was like a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders, no longer seeing the sad past and looked towards the brighter future.

Her training included the proper self defense with and out weapons, how to disarm a foe, and fight back. She learned some sword-wielding but found her arms couldn't handle the weights. Ajax watched how she worked with the weapons and found that she was a fast little sucker both close and far. So, she could be a ranged or up close type fighter. He had her test some crossbows and despite it took a while, she grew a liking to them. Not only were crossbows good from long range, but Roland told her during one day that she can use them as blunt weapons. Stunning a foe or dazing it.

Lexus had moved onto training dummies -another permission needed from Clarus- and she was glad to not use real people to shoot her bolts at. She was taught mostly to stun, daze, and knock out any foes. Never kill, which made sense to Lexus deeply. Ajax had her study Daemons and the creatures outside Insomnia.

For a near two years, Lexus life was consumed to a second change- Good this time around! After she graduated, she worked to get her motorcycle license and got her official bike. Roland was nervous of her riding, since she tended to be a speed demon on the road. But, she wore her helmet and promised to be careful. Ajax had gotten her very own crossbow for her graduation. It was custom made and she even had a mini hand held one hidden within to wield two. It was black with silver engravings of skulls and even had a little running chocobo. Her name was also engraved into the handles, reminding her these were her own personal weapons.

Her training was retained at home, as things were getting antsy at the Citadel over a recent talk of a treaty between Lucis and Niflheim in the coming Spring. She also spent her time studying creatures of her land and her uncle taught her types of demons out there. She'd hear the cries and screams of those creatures a few times when she lived at the Chocobo Ranch as a child. The chocobos had to sleep close to the buildings, in fear of being eaten or killed. Thankfully, the ranch was well lit, and Daemons never invaded the property.

Lexus was taught that light at night was important, never venture out in the dark of night and keep close to places to stay at. She studied the map as of recently, while she took breaks working at the bar or bike shop.

One day in May, Lexus was helping her uncle close up the bar late one evening. She was sweeping the aged tile floor and placed chairs and stools upon the table and counter surfaces. Roland watched her as he did dishes, she was wiping the tables down, silent but a smile was found on her face. She hummed to herself, no doubt some song she listened to during her morning jogging sessions. He gave a soft smile, and put a clean mug down, wiping his hands dry.

"Lexy," he called, catching her attention. "I got something early today." Roland walked around the counter and fished out an envelope from his back pocket.

Lexus raised a brow at the letter, she gently took it and read the address. IT had her name, the bar's address, what caught her by surprise was the returning address- The Chocobo Ranch. A small sense of curiosity and hope surged through her, tearing the envelope open and finding a letter inside. She unfolded it, Roland watched as her blue eyes scanned the words, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth.

"Mom and Dad…" She gasped softly, "They want me to visit them." she told him.

Roland raised his brows, "What? Just you?" he joked.

Lexus scoffed, her eyes growing glassy. "They said you can come along, mom mentions it'd be safe for me."

Roland thought it over, then waved his hand dismissively. "Nah!" He turned back around the counter, returning to his dishes to scrub a plate. "I got this bar, who else can help people unwind with this stress of the treaty being on the rise?"

The pine haired girl walked over, leaning over the counter with her elbows, rereading the letter. "They asked me to leave May 16th, and to stay as long as I want…" Her voice trailed off, the later lowering in her fingers.

Roland glanced up from his scrubbing battle with the plate. Damn dried chicken sauce. His eyes shifted to the letter then back to her. "You could," he encouraged. "Don't have to worry about asking for days off working here. And you're boss at the bike shop would understand, hasn't he been getting on you about a day off or so?"

"That's… Not really the problem." She held a frown, her eyes watery but not enough to threaten a leakage. "Of all the years to contact me, of all the time- Why now do they want me there?"

Roland frowned, nodding to the paper. "Don't they say why?"

"Not really." Lexus shrugged, looking up at him. "Just how they really want me to visit as if walking down a block to spend a dinner evening with them," She dropped the paper on the counter and turned back to return to cleaning.

Roland can sense her dejection, pausing his cleaning. Her demeanor of cleaning shifted to being more rough with wiping the tables down and her stature more stiff and defensive.

He sighed loud enough for her to hear, "You gonna go?" he asked.

Lexus kept cleaning, though her uncle's question made her glare down at the wooden surface. "Why should I? Go to their beck and call whenever they want? They're the ones who abandoned me, dumped me here and never came back."

Roland dried his hands once more, approaching her silently.

"They weren't there for my graduation, for my biker license, for my bullying, for my past twelve birthdays!" She threw the worn out rag across the room, letting it smack against the wall and fell to the ground in a clump.

The silence tense air was thick, but Roland ignored it, reaching for her shoulder to give it a soft squeeze. "I can understand your anger and resentment for them. But, I rather them leave me to you than just be stuck at that ranch enclosed from the world-"

"I _was_ enclosed from the world!" She snapped, turning to shove his hand off her. "I never wanted to live in the city back then! My mother wanted to, never me!"

"And you still don't want to live here, right?" He asked, voice still soft despite her rising voice and tone at him.

Lexus sighed, looking up at her uncle. It wasn't that she hated being with him, or living here at this bar. She hated this city, even after all the years from her being a child, through her teens, to her currently young adulthood- She hated Insomnia.

"It's not you." She assured, her temper flared down to a dwindle. "This city, it feels like a cage."

"Then you should go." He encouraged with a smile, he reached for the letter and folded it, placing it in her pants pocket. "I'll contact them and let them know you'll be leaving the 16th."

"Wait!" Roland ignored her, tutting as he wagged her finger.

"You can just go and come back or stay. It's up to you, but as your uncle and guardian, it's best to get out and take some fresh air out of this city." He placed his hands on her shoulder, turning her to him and pulling her into a hug. "You've been preparing for this day, to leave the city, haven't you?"

He wasn't wrong. What her self defense lessons were to only be, turned into preparing a day she left this city to venture far into Lucis. Her day was coming and the chance was right there. But so was her hestance.

"What about you?" She asked, he chuckled and pulled back. "Will you be alright?"

He noticed her eyes took a quick glance to his head, where the beanie hid his old injury. The years hadn't been kind to Roland as she took his appearance. He was getting old, and his traumatic injury was catching up to him. If she hadn't known about it, Lexus would assume it was just age getting to him. But he was starting to forget common things, nothing too worrisome. Mostly just turning the lights off or track of time. The real concern hit Lexus when he forgot to lock the shop up and turn the close sign, finding a customer at 3 in the morning downstairs.

"I know it's getting to me, but if I ever need help I can get old Ajax." He assured her.

Lexus felt his hands fall from her as she crossed her arms, amusement crossing her features at last. "Don't get on him, he's probably busy with this whole treaty happening right?"

Roland nodded, Ajax was the only person who was giving this information. It was kept hush until publicly announced by the King. "If I want, I could just close and give myself a well earned vacation. There's this show I've been meaning to watch, maybe delve into some arts and crafts- who knows!"

Lexus laughed, shaking her head at his silly antics. He cleared his throat, nodding to her. "You need this trip, trust me. You can visit them, maybe travel and explore what Lucis has to offer you before heading back here."

The thought of the freedom really spurred her to go out and visit her parents. Heck, the letter asked to leave the 16th, she could take her sweet time arriving to meet them so long as she left on that date.

With a final sigh of a decision, she nodded. "I'll go, the 16th right?"

"Yup! That's in a week, so prepare and pack!" He encouraged, shooing her toward the stairs.

Lexus smacked his arms from his shooing. "Who packs a week in advance?"

* * *

Lexus spent the week sending her boss her time off and planning her trip. Planning her clothing and essentials needed for her travel. With her bike only able to store so much, she didn't want to bring too much stuff. Just clothing, toiletries, and of course charger for her phone and to store her crossbow. Lexus wished she could store it like how Ajax stores his weapon, able to materialize it out of thin air. But, as Ajax explained, he was only allowed the power thanks to the crystal. Only certain people were allowed the power by the King to use it as such.

She looked over her map of Lucis Ajax lent her and started to set up where to go. It was leading to her visiting more spots before actually stopping at the ranch. She would have to travel through Leide to get to Duscae where the ranch was. But her eyes scanned Leide and the many locations made her want to stop at everyone!

"Okay!" She clapped her hands on her cheeks, trying to focus on her plans.

The map laid out on her desk of her room, dim light of her desk lamp lighting the room. It was late in the night and she would be leaving in a few days. She took the red marker and started to trail a red bright line from the city to the first pit stop- Hammerhead.

"I can stop here and check on my fuel and…hmm." She paused and scanned the map, her eyes darting between Leide and Duscae. "I'd have to head West, but that would mean missing out on Galdin Quay. Unless…"

Her hands drew the marker down South all the way to the shore and then back up to go West. her hand seemed to have a mind of it's own, traveling all around into Duscae circling The Disc until she finally paused at the ranch. She caved and circled it ending to trail.

"Guess that ends that." She assumed, leaning back as she capped the marker. She eyed the calendar hanging on the wall in front of her, just below her window. The 16th circled in black near twice so she wouldn't forget.

She couldn't help but let out an excited hum, grinning as she stretched her arms above her head. "Finally getting out of here!"

* * *

"You sure you have everything?"

"Yes."

"Phone charger?"

"Check."

"Food and toiletries?"

"Check."

"Extra underwear?"

Lexus let out a laugh that early chilly morning. To get a head start, Roland urged her to leave as early as possible. Early meaning the moment the sun rose and awake she was. She had her compartment under her bike's seat stuffed with the list of things, her crossbow attached to the back and her bike helmet hanging off of the bike handle. The helmet wasn't a typical one; the chocobo fan she was, she had it painted yellow with the head resembling said bird, the dark visor looking like a large beak and eyes on either side of the helmet. When lifting the visor, it looked like a chocobo opening its mouth wide to find a human face in there.

The morning air was chilly, she wore her dark jeans with leather detail on the knees. Her leather jacket to keep her warm from driving already slipped on and zipped up over her dark shirt that had her tank top that had her uncle's bar advertisement on it. Her black ankle high boots tapped on the cement with eagerness.

"Yes." She folded the seat down and picked up her helmet. "I'll text you when I get to Hammerhead."

"Oh, that's the first stop?" He asked, brows raised.

Lexus nodded, "Thought I'd check on the fuel. It's a long drive just from the city to there alone!" she exclaimed. "But I'll keep you updated on where I go so you don't have to worry."

Roland smiled and reached up, to ruffle her hair. "Knowing you'll be out there, I won't have to worry."

She frowned at his wording, but assumed maybe it had to do with their discussion last week on her leaving. "I'll take pictures too!"

Roland nodded, "I'd love that- Oh!" he removed his hand and snapped his finger. "If you see a man named Cid- old and looks like he should retire- give him a hello!"

"Another old friend?" She asked.

He nodded.

With a breath, she reached up and hugged Roland, who returned it just as tight. "Be safe and happy out there."

"I will!" She giggled and kissed his cheek before turning to her bike.

Lexus took another deep breath, her heart pounding as she straddled her bike and placed her helmet on. Roland glanced to make sure her crossbow was secure once more as she started the engine, revving it. He stepped back, waving as she waved back, speeding down the road toward the city gates.

With the treaty underway soon, she wasn't shocked to find it a bit of a hassle to get through the gates. They had a security check on her right now, she leaned on her bike, visor up as she awaited to be granted permission. As she waited, the sound of a car engine parked her attention. She turned back and spotted a dark fancy rich car coming up to the second gate. Lexus expected it to slow to a stop for the security check, but her jaw hung seeing the car just zoom right by and left without a single sign of breaking.

"What the hell!?" She barked, glaring at the back as the car receded into the distance. Her gloved hands thrown up, exasperated from what she just saw. What gave them the special right to just drive right through?

Eventually, after ten or so minutes, the guard returned. "Alright, miss. You're all clear." He told her, returning her ID and papers.

She snatched them back, glaring as she shoved them into the breast pocket of her leather jacket. "Thanks!" She barked, and kicked her stand, speeding off.

The guard was a tad deterred, but returned to his post for anyone else to enter or exit the city limits.

The engine roared beneath her as Lexus pushed her bike's limit to catch up to that asinine allowed to just… do that! Not even ten seconds out of the city and already she was ready to start something with some random ignoramus.

As she sped down the road, she was starting to think the asshole might have just pushed past the speed limit and was long gone. She eased her speed, until she spotted a block spot at the side of a road. Assuming to be someone broken down, Lexus first thought to check on them. But once she got closer, the biker recognized the car- It was the ignoramus. Not just one, but four of them! Three were pushing the large long ass vehicle while the fourth was in the car directing it all. With a wide impish grin, she sped up to ride along and revving her engine at them. Once all four men had their attention, she sped up and pulled back to do a wheelie and sped off leaving them behind in the dust.

Lexus laughed to herself, easing the front wheel back onto the pavement, not needing to crash and make herself look like a fool after that. Karma, she thought to herself. The final hit of speed she felt something click and then the click got louder. Dread sunk in, she groaned realizing she screwed her clutch doing that stunt.

"Okay, I deserve that." She muttered under the helmet. Thankfully, she saw the small pitstop that was Hammerhead. So long as she kept moving, she'd arrive and get it checked out at the garage.

* * *

The four boys coughed as dust was kicked up thanks to the chocobo biker who just wheeled and revved at them, then sped off.

"Lovely…" Ignis groaned, keeping a hand gripped on the wheel as he wiped the dust and dirt off his blazer sleeve.

"It's in my eyes!" Prompto cried, trying to rub them as he pressed his elbow to push the right side.

Noctis spat at the ground, on the left of the car. "At least it's not in your mouth!"

Gladio, who was getting sick of their moaning and whining, growled at them. "Just keep pushing!" He knowingly putting more effort to pushing the Regalia than the other two pipsqueaks.

Ignis watched the bike shooting down the road, nice to know manners weren't dead outside the city, he sarcastically thought. Eventually -hopefully- they'd arrive at Hammerhead and get the car fixed.

And not allow Prompto behind the wheel ever again.


	6. Chapter 6

Hammerhead was the most intriguing sight her eyes had fallen upon for her first stop outside of Insomnia. The dry desert air, the chatting locals, smell of grease from the garage, and even the sound of sizzling cooking from the diner. Everything was being soaked into as she walked her bike up to the front of the small storefront by the gas station. The bike slowed down the closer she got after her clutch broke. She eventually turned the engine off and walked the remaining mile to Hammerhead. Deciding to keep her helmet on, she waved hello to a few locals and removed her gloves as she entered the shop. Her eyes scanned the place, lifting her visor up in search for a new clutch cable. She had half the idea just to ask the shop to fix it for her, but rather save her money and just purchase the cable and do it herself.

Lexus looked around, spotting many vehicle needs, along with what she remembered Ajax teaching her potions and elixirs. She was surprised to even find some ingredients to cook with meats labeled as 'Gighee Ham' or 'Luncheon Meat', and spices on racks. Lexus moved along, finding the shelves with repair kits, motorbike parts, and a hammerhead decal. With a grin, she picked up a decal as a small check to arrive there and found the small box of clutch cables.

The biker walked up to the counter to purchase the items, ignoring the eyebrow raising look the cashier gave her helmet. Nonetheless, he made no comment, thanked her and she walked right out with a plastic bag in hand. Though she should've told him she didn't need it, as she'd be opening the items anyway. Lexus shrugged as she approached her bike parked outside the diner, kneeling down to remove the decal. With a grin, Lexus carefully placed the decal on her back right, seeing the hammerhead logo look great on her yellow fender.

Lexus went to work on taking apart the side of the bike to access the broken clutch cord. It would take a while and delay her travel, but like she cared. All the more to enjoy Hammerhead and it's dusty dirt sights! The gust of dust did blow up now and then, she flipped her visor down to keep her mouth and eyes clear as she took the bike apart.

With her helmet on, she eventually removed her leather jacket feeling the sun beat on her shoulders and tossed it over the seat of her bike. Some muffled voices were heard and she ignored them, humming to herself. She heard a few men walk inside, mentioning someone about car repairs and needing food. Lexus had been too focused on her repairs to even notice a blonde of the four man group had pointed to her out being the 'speedy wheelie' from the road. Another chuckled at how karma had hit her for that as they all wandered inside the diner.

After a while, she felt the heat becoming too much and she had just gotten access to the cable. Her stomach growled protesting to eat a late breakfast, and Lexus conceded; a nice drink and big meal would get her enough energy to finish her bike and be back on the road.

Unbeknownst to her as she entered, the four same men she had snubbed off the road were sitting at the bar discussing with the owner. Though the blonde questioned what a gil was, making her raise a brow in their direction. She approached next to the muscle head who was talking to the blondie, the dark haired one asking about what the area had.

"We can't get any food without gil, it seems." The muscle head figured, his voice deep but rich.

Lexus sneaked a peak before tugging a menu toward herself and scanning the food. Not many choices, Chili con Carne, Lieden Jambalaya, Veggie Medly Stew, or the Multi-Meat Sandwich -which was chicken tender and ham- with coffee or cold glass of water. Deciding the sandwich was light and cheaper with a glass of water would be an alright dent in her pocket.

"And how do we get this gil? I'm starving!" The blond whined, twisting on his stool left and right.

"Excuse me?" Realizing the visor was muffling her, she lifted it. "Pardon me?" She called to the dark skinned owner.

He seemed spooked by her sudden appearance -or sudden existence- and cleared his throat. "Sorry miss, no helmet or masks inside- Policy."

"Oh, sorry. No problem." She assured, reaching to remove the helmet.

The brunette muscle head turned, his amber like eyes narrowing down at her. "Hey, you were that biker then snubbed us back on the road."

She glanced up, pausing in her action as the blond and dark haired boy glanced over. "Woah! That's a sweet helmet though- Chocobo style!" He praised with a grin.

She chuckled, nodding "Thanks.. Though, you started it."

The fourth man with glasses and standing blond bangs finally drew his attention. "We started it?" The dark haired one asked, glancing at his bespectacled friend. "Started what?"

Lexus turned and bowed her head down, removing her helmet to allow her pine green hair flow over her shoulders. She reached up, scratching her scalp and fixing the ends that ruffled and curled around her shoulders and the bangs that framed her face. Looking back, the three seemed… surprised by her appearance?

"At the gates, leaving Insomnia. You just sped right by and didn't give any indication to stop and give papers and ID to leave." She placed her helmet on the bar and stood, hands on her narrow hips that her jeans hugged. "I had to wait a good long time just to get a yes to leave that damn city. Call that break down. I saw you with karma for that."

"Says the one with her bike in pieces outside." The dark haired one retorted.

"Wait!" The blond cried, moving from the stool and walking up to her, looking at her features pretty closely. "Wait a minute…" He kept tapping his chin with his knuckle, his brows knotted as he scanned her face.

"Uh, can I help you?" She asked, stepping back from the lack of space.

The other three seemed just as confused by their friend's sudden interest in her. "That hair…" Then he gasped and jumped back, blue eyes wide at her. "Lexus?"

The two of his friends frowned, was she someone the blond knew? The third friend's head glanced up, he knew that name somewhere.

"Uh, do I know you?" She asked, raising a brow. Maybe a customer from the bike shop at some point?

He groaned, arms falling to his side as he hung his head. "That's right, were just kids so you wouldn't recognize me." He perked up suddenly, "I had such 'prompt' timing back then too."

Almost as if a truck had hit her, the memory of all those years ago snapped back into her skull. "Prompto!?" She exclaimed, hand over her mouth in shock.

Prompto's friends watched in surprise as Lexus was hugged, Lexus returned it still stunned to have ever met this boy ever again! The muscle head and dark haired boy looked to one another, shrugged that they had no idea who this Lexus was. Ignis watched, his eyes scanning the girl, no doubt it was her. That green hair wasn't common then and still wasn't common now.

Lexus eventually allowed herself to be as giddy as Prompto was, finally grinning and tightening her hug to him. They pulled apart, Lexus getting a good look at him. "Holy crap, I didn't even recognize you! You're hair, glasses- You're weight!"

Prompto chuckled, flexing his arms. "Nice right? Worked hard to get where I am today!" She laughed at his attempt to show off. "You look great too- Not that you didn't back then."

"Thanks!" Her eyes traveled to the confused duo, she snickered and nodded her head to them from Prompto.

"Oh! Right, sorry!" He scrambled a bit with introductions, standing by Lexus with a hand on her shoulder. "Guys, this is Lexus! That girl I told you about years ago I saved?"

Gladio chuckled, "What are the odds the girl that you save back then, doesn't save us?" he joked.

"I apologize for that, I should've helped no matter who you were." She assured, giving a small quick bow of her head.

"Nah, it's alright. Seeing your bike torn apart out there is good enough." He held a large hand out, Lexus took it as they shook hands. Despite the rough calluses and the strength, he was gentle with his grip and shake. "Gladio, nice to know Prompto's imaginary friend is real."

Prompto glared at his large friend. "She always was real!"

Lexus giggled, smiling up at Gladio. "It's nice to meet you."

"Iggy, come here!" Prompto called, who sat further down.

He complied, walking over looking down at the pine haired girl. Even now he towered over her like he did when they first met. "This is-"

"Ignis." Lexus said, her blue eyes wide like Prompto's were before. That hair, those eyes, that accent. How could she not know it was him?

That answer stunned Prompto, which caught the other two off guard.

"You know, Iggy?" Prompto asked.

"Yeah..." She answered faintly, the memories all flooding back. But this included the pain and anger to flow back through her mind as well. Her hands beside her curled into fists when he held his hand out to offer a handshake.

"It's good to see you again, Lexus." He said, those eyes were steel yet his stare was… friendly? Not wanting to make this awkward or anything with her feelings of all those years ago, she swallowed back the feeling and shook his hand.

Her smile returned, trying to find the happiness she felt a moment ago. "I could say the same." Yet she didn't. "I don't think you've changed all that much. Same hair, stature, and can't lose that accent."

Ignis swallowed and nodded, sensing her terse tone. "You've changed." He pointed out, though didn't add what it was. She brushed it off with a laugh, letting him release her hand.

The dark haired one approached her, though he seemed reserved compared to the others. "This is my best buddy!"

Lexus nodded to him, offering her hand to him. "Nice to meet you…?"

"Noctis." He told, though seemed reserved on hand shaking.

Her eyes twitched, her lips wanting to frown even more now. This- This little snob was _the_ Prince Noctis? The same one her mother praised and talked about day and night? The one who constantly got talked about and attention?

She eyed him up and down, he really didn't seem socially inclined, avoiding eye contact and keeping a physical distance. He showed no signs he even wanted to meet her, let alone acknowledge her.

No, this was him. This was Prince Noctis.

A toothy grin was released, letting her hand fall to her side. "Well, I should be honored meeting Pr-"

Prompto's hand suddenly slapped over her mouth, shocking her at his action completely. Her instinct to bend his arm back rose, but she refrained not wanting to hurt him for a small action.

"Sorry, sorry!" He apologized, brows furrowed showing he really was guilty for this. "It's just- Noct rather people not know who he really is, y'know?"

She raised a brow, eyes scanning the other two who nodded, Noct finally looked at her but looked away just as quickly. Lexus looked back to her old blond friend. "If you could keep it a secret?"

Her eyes softened at his plea and she nodded. He removed his hand, muttering another apology. "That certainly explains how you were able to leave the city with no check."

"A moment, Noct?" Ignis called, beckoning him toward the door from outside. The prince left, seeming to be thankful to be out of the situation.

"Where are you guys heading? If I can know that?" She asked the remaining two.

"We're heading to Altissa. Noct has a wedding to get to." Prompto told her, standing by her side once more. She wouldn't put him as clingy, but he was a 'close to comfort' type. Lexus almost stepped aside, not used to such close interaction with anyone other than her uncle and Ajax.

"Oh, I remember hearing that announcement." Her eyes glanced to the dark haired prince, discussing something important about funds and money with Ignis. "He doesn't seem eager." She commented.

"Noct can be like that," Gladio told her, leaning his elbow against the counter. He gave her a bit more space than Prompto, but close enough to have a proper level volume conversation.

"What about you?" Prompto asked her, "I never thought I'd see you be a biker chick."

Lexus laughed, patting her helmet near Gladio. "Well, Ignis is right. I changed." She cleared her throat, giving the tip of her nose a scratch. "I'm… I'm traveling about. First time outside the city, my uncle suggested it."

"Oh, sweet! Maybe it was fate we met up here!" Prompto said with such excitement glistening in his blue eyes.

"If you're gonna look at girls like that, at least pick one first." Gladio muttered, thought Lexus heard and laughed when Prompto blushed and shoved his arm.

"Gentlemen," Ignis called to the other two. "Time to confer with Cindy."

Prompto seemed bummed out having to leave his friend, Gladio patted his back roughly. "I don't think Lexus is going anywhere with her bike the way it is." He looked to her for confirmation.

"Yeah, I was actually coming in to take a break, so I'll be here." She assured him.

That was enough to get the eager blond out with Gladio. Lexus watched as the four men talked for a moment, Prompto's head hung and Gladio heaved a sigh, hanging his head. Whatever the discussion was, it didn't seem good for the crew.

* * *

Lexus got herself a booth and finally ordered her food. She sat at the window, glancing out awaiting her food. She watched the four men with curiosity talk to the mechanic blonde girl at the garage. Lexus saw no sign of the car, meaning it was still under repairs. She watched as Noctis spoke to her, she responded back with a thoughtful look. Ignis spoke behind Noctis, and all four nodded at something in agreement. Cindy handed something to Noctis, she turned back just as her food arrived. She thanked the owner and first gulped down the cool glass of water to cool down.

Her mind drifted off, thinking about what had just occurred. If she had told her younger self she would see Ignis and Prompto again, she would never believe her. Hell, if she told her she'd be venturing out of the city at age twenty, her younger self would just call her a liar. Not only had she just re-met Ignis, but Prompto too. Someone she met only once had remembered her all those years ago. Ignis seemed to have, but looked more reserved on the notion, compared to the sudden hug and enthusiasm Prompto showed.

Lexus rubbed her head, trying to find the appetite in her to eat the bowl of chili in front of her. She had to remember not to get side tracked, they would be on their way and she'd be on hers. Then never see each other once again. Her stomach rumbled and she started to take small bits of the chili, gradually eating bigger bites.

Seems her peace of mind was interrupted when the familiar voices of the four boys had returned. She rested the spoon in her bowl and looked over seeing the same four men indeed come inside. Prompto eagerly stepped toward the counter, then his eyes shot about and found her. Oh, did they need something?

"Hey, you're still here!" He said, jogging over to her where she sat.

"Er, yeah. Hasn't been that long." She mused awkwardly, giving him her full attention. "How's your car?" She asked as the rest joined, though Ignis was eyeing up the menu on the board.

"Still in need of repair, we're just playing the waiting game now." Gladio told her, he seemed to favor her company too with his friendly demeanor toward her. He reminded her of a large intimidating creature with a nice personality.

"Oh, shame." She commented shortly.

To her surprise, Prompto just slid into the seat across from her, she flinched at the idea that they might join her. "Noct is hungry- mind if we join you?" And it was true.

"Weren't you the one whining how your stomach is eating itself?" Noctis retorted at him.

She seemed hesitant and glanced at the others and Gladio shrugged, not minding, though the other two didn't seem to care. She couldn't find herself being rude to Prompto and he seemed to want to spend more time with her. "S-Sure."

Noctis slid into the booth next to Prompto and Lexus slid down expecting Gladio to sit with her. He offered it to Ignis, commenting how he didn't want to squish her in the seat. Oh, delightful. Ignis slid in next to her, though Lexus kept herself pressed against the wall for room as she moved her drink and chili with her. Gladio took a chair from the tables and placed it at the end of the table, sitting on it backwards, straddling it. Lexus reached for the menus at her end and passed them around to the guys, returning to her meal.

They discussed food, though when Noctis and Gladio favored the Jambalaya, Ignis reminded them of the lack of funds and would have to go for smaller meals. She kept to herself, her brain throwing all kinds of questions to what she should do, say, or even look at. Here sat four men, four odd distinct men. Her eyes scanned each one, trying to avoid any eye contact they might make with her, studying them.

Prompto and Noctis were close, proving the best buddies that he claimed for them to be. Though it seemed Prompto's hyper like personality was calmed by Noctis' opposite personality. But, she heard him make some quips and sarcastic jokes at the blond, maybe he was just different in front of others. Gladio sitting at the end was commenting something about the lack of meat on the menu. He really did remind her of a gentle giant; His tone was soft and low, unlike Prompto's boisterous voice. Lexus wanted to skip over Ignis, but taking a peek, she found him writing down in a small notebook, glancing at the menu. She frowned, maybe he was noting down the prices since he mentioned they had a small budget. Then again, he held a smile as he jotted whatever it was down in his book.

That was another thing that bugged her- Wouldn't a prince have enough money to pretty much buy out the diner and more? Ignis seemed strict on near picking out food for them to make sure they didn't go over their limit.

Being in her own thoughts for so long, Lexus shook her head hearing her name being called.

"Sorry, what?" She asked, looking up. Shit, which one called her name?

Gladio chuckled, "You seemed really focused on Ignis there." he teased.

Lexus looked to Gladio, then to Ignis who was giving her a confused look. Crap! Had she been staring at him to a point he noticed? Her brain scrambled to think up an excuse.

"M-My bad!" She laughed, shifting in her seat. "I was just curious- about you're notebook." Lexus said, pointing at the little thing he held.

"Just a new recipe." Ignis answered, pocketing it into his blazer's beast pocket.

"I'll be your taste tester." Prompto offered, then smiled at Lexus. "You should try his cooking sometime, it's out of this world!"

Lexus turned her focus to him across from her, mentally blocking Ignis from her peripheral. "Maybe someday." She said, not really giving a yes or no to the idea.

The four men ordered the food and it arrived almost as quickly as the next subject. Prompto and Ignis ordered the stew, Noctis got the sandwich and Gladio got the chili. They all got water and went to work eating their meals. Prompto and Gladio were enjoying their separate orders, Ignis savoring his stew, and Noctis… Was picking the greens from his sandwich. Ignis noticed and berated him on eating more vegetables. The Prince replied by pushing all the said healthy parts onto Ignis' plate like a child. He sighed beside her, like a mother annoyed by a son.

"So, I know the details of how Prompto met you." Gladio said, gaining her attention when she continued with her semi warm chili. "What's the details on you and Iggy?"

Lexus chuckled, her nerves rising in her belly. "Funny story, I was about eight and wandered the city. Ignis found me crying like a baby and led me back to my uncle's bar."

"How is that bar doing?" Ignis asked, surprising her by his interest. Or was he just being kind?

"Ah, he's still up and running." She nodded to him, though her eyes looked past him. "I mean, it is- But he is too!" She tried to catch her mis-wording.

"What's the bar?" Gladio asked.

"Casa Nova, it's pretty small and we don't get many-"

"You're uncle wouldn't happen to be, Roland?"

Lexus paused at Gladio's question. "Yes, that's his name. Have you been there?"

"My father knows him, used to be part the Crownsgaurd." Lexus nodded, ignoring Prompto's 'woah' to that.

"That's awesome your uncle is a Crownsgaurd. Never met him around the Citadel." He commented.

Gladio rolled his eyes, "I did say, 'used to be'." he repeated.

Lexus nodded, "He just works at his own bar, enjoying his old years-Shit!" she barked, jolting Noctis and Gladio. "I meant to contact him once I got here." She took out her phone and looked to Ignis expectedly. "Er, excuse me-"

"Oh, pardon." He scooted out, letting her free of the booth.

"I'll be back, just a quick call." She assured, walking over to the doorway and dialing his number.

She heard the dial tone go on far longer than it should, but assumed he might be busy with customers or his old buddies. She heard a click, "Hey-"

" _This is Roland, leave a message and I'll get back to you."_ She heard the voice cal sighed. Lexus was hoping to talk to him about her currently 'situation' but she'd be sure he'd call back.

When the beep went off, she left her message. "Hey, uncle Roland, it's Lexy!" She kept her voice enthusiastic, not wanting to worry him if her anxiety was heard. "I made it Hammerhead, and had to pit stop here longer. My clutch cable broke, but I'm getting that fixed, with a good bowl of chili from the diner here." She cleared her throat, eyes traveling around, suddenly remembering. "Oh, I haven't seen anyone who may look like Cid out here. But I'll ask around before I head out. Love you, bye!"

She hung up, but before pocketing her phone she took a photo of herself, smiling and making sure the diner was within shot behind her. Lexus sent the photo, as a second assurance to him how she was doing.

When Lexus returned, they were half way or done their meals, talking with laughter and merriment. Ignis moved for her to sit back, but she raised her hand to stop him. "I'm pretty much done, gonna pay and get back to my bike."

"Aw, but we just got to the part where Ignis met you a second time." Prompto told, reaching over Noctis to poke Ignis.

Lexus looked at Ignis who waved the blond's hand away. "Oh, yeah." She dismissed, remembering it well herself. It was the day before _that_ day. The day she never wanted to relive or remember, only forget what she saw happen to her father.

"If I'm correct, it was a day before a big Chocobo racing event was occurring." Ignis said, cupping his chin in thought. "Her father was part of it." He told them.

Lexus stood rigid in her spot, it was like a reminder just slapping her in the face. He needs to stop. He needs to shut up.

"You're dad raced chocobos? So cool!" Prompto was near standing in his seat. Noctis tilted his head, glancing to Ignis as he scooted out and away from the bouncing chocobo fan. "Oh, that must have been why you were in a when we met."

"Wasn't there an accident that day?" Noctis asked, having a vague memory of that event.

Lexus seemed to have blocked them out, it was flashing before her eyes where she stood. The large feathered mounts making the corner, her father in lead. One mistake, one accident, one slip up. She heard nothing but screams- both from her father and the crowd. Her mother's horrified cries filled her ears and she was seeing blood-

"Lexus, hey! Hello?"

The sudden shake of her shoulder took her out of the nightmare in her head. Blinking, she looked down, finding Gladio's large hand on her shoulder, the shake was gentle but enough to jolt her out of her inner Hell.

"You alright?" He asked, "You look pale." Gladio noted.

Lexus gulped back the urge to vomit her chili and nodded. Sweat was forming as he combed her hair to wipe it from her forehead. "Sorry, so sorry." She reached for her glass and gulped down the remaining water.

The boys gave weary looks, noticing the features that had befallen on her face during her whole little moment to herself.

"I better get back to my bike." She dismissed, taking her wallet out and placing the gil on the table.

Ignis frowned at the amount she left, "You don't have to-"

"Think of it as thanks, for the company." She assured him quickly, taking her helmet last minute and waving them off as she walked out of the diner.

Lexus took deep breaths as she placed her helmet on and got to moving her bike out behind the garage. She didn't want any eyes on her, no one to see her, as if she wasn't existent right now. Lexus leaned against the wall and slid down, removing her helmet and placing it beside her. She hadn't ever thought that far into that dreaded day in years and never wanted to again. The day that made her live the life she had-

Her hands covered her face, taking deep breaths to refrain the need to cry, the urge to let tears drop and her mind be melted into depression. No, she couldn't let it. She left that depressing dark part of her behind, she was different now. Good different.

Sitting for a good while, Lexus fought the feeling back down, it was a trying battle but she managed to win. She dug into her back pocket and pulled her handkerchief and wiped her face to rid any sweat. Ignoring the feel of the embroidered name, she tucked it back in and got to her feet.

"Back to work."


	7. Chapter 7

It took awhile for her to finish, but eventually Lexus got the wire replaced and her bike put back together. She was putting her tools away when the back door creaked open making her jump. She had completely forgotten she hid away behind the garage as an older man came out spotting her, like an Anak caught in the headlights.

"Whatcha doing back here?" He asked, his voice scratchy and low. The man spotted her bike and tools in hand. "Having your own private tune up?"

"Sorry, just needed some space and-"

He waved her off, shuffling toward her. "Ya ain't no arm or foul, don't worry." The man sat down in a chair by the door and sighed, probably from aches or kinks in his joints. "Needing some fresh air myself."

Curious, Lexus put her tools away and closed the seat compartment of her bike and approached him. "Thanks, I'm Lexus."

He nodded a greeting, "I saw ya roll on up here earlier, your ride all smoothed out?" he asked.

Lexus nodded, "Just a clutch cable, I seemed to have pushed it on the long ride out of the city to here." she sheepishly told him. "Are you Cid, by any chance?"

He chuckled, "That's my name." he confirmed. "Wondered how long till you figured it out, I know for sure you're Roland's niece."

She walked over to him, "You knew I was coming?" she asked.

"Sure did, that old uncle of yours contacted me. Made sure you arrived when you did, and you did. Although, he hoped for better ride conditions." He added, eyeing her bike she had just worked on. He rubbed his chin, leaning back with a grunt. "If it's gonna handle the road out here, might need an upgrade."

Her brows went up, arms crossing as she shifted herself to the side. "An upgrade?" Lexus questioned, glancing to eye her bike up like he did. "What kind?"

Cid got up with another grunt and made his way over, circling the bike. "I don't get much motorbikes around here, typical cars of classic and new." He stopped by the front wheel, rubbing his jaw line. "Could test and give it better wheels and headlights. You'll be driving at night, I suppose?"

Lexus walked over, taking a breath in thought. "My uncle warned me of the Daemons that come about at night, I'm hoping to avoid it during my travel."

"You'll need stronger headlights, pit stops are pretty far from each other. Best to be safe than sorry out here." He offered, raising his gloved hand toward her. "I'll give her an upgrade in return for a favor- No gil required."

If this was some random stranger that offered her the idea, she'd be highly suspicious of the conversation. But the fact he was an old friend of her Uncle's, she found no harm or foul by the idea of an upgrade. After all, her lights might be weaker than needed since she barely needed to use them with the city having the protective wall.

"What's the favor?" She asked, smiling curiously at the shorter old man.

He gave a raspy chuckle, resting his offered handshake on the bike handle. "I see you got yourself a weapon, maybe give it a taste by getting rid of some pests we get time to time around here." Cid patted the crossbow resting on her bike, then grinned at her. "Heard of Daggerquils?"

"Oh, yeah! Ajax taught me about the beasts out here." She told him, stepping over to remove the crossbow and strapping it to her back. "What about them?"

"Those pain in the ass things have been threatening to get a little too close to comfort toward Hammerhead. Kicking up dust and flying too close, expecting to see them outside the garage any day now." He explained rubbing the back of his neck as he took his seat once more. "If it's not too much trouble. Should be about one or two, enough for you to handle."

Lexus grew excited, a time to finally put her skills she had spent two years training on to the test. "Yes! I'll take care of them, just take good care of my bike, Cid."

He chuckled and nodded, "Of course! You can find these pesky things out West, near The Three Valleys." he informed her.

"Got it, I'll nail those birds down in a flash!" She said, punching her fist into her palm excitedly.

Cid merely shook his head with a chuckle as she made her jog West of Hammerhead. "Gotta find the spark in that one."

* * *

It was a long trek, Lexus was glad she ate and had her energy replenished from her meal to make the long jog to The Three Valleys. "I will be so thankful Uncle Roland and Ajax had me jog every morning."

Her eyes were scanning the sky now and then, keeping an eye out for the brightly colored birds. She remembered reading that these birds can be about eight feet in length, which she assumed was wingspan. Lexus extended her arms out, trying to get the idea how big exactly.

Her eyes wandered upward, finding herself at The Three Valleys and found bright blue and orange birds flying high in the sky. She frowned, hands on her hips. They were too far high in the sky to shoot from her stand point, she needed higher ground. Lexus ran over to the rock formations and got herself onto a higher flat landing, taking off her crossbow.

"One, two, three four…. About five should give the message." She figured, loading her bow and raising it up to aim.

Lexus shot at the birds, mostly aiming to kill for an instant death then clipping their wings. She preferred to just take a few down rather than hurting and making their survival more trivial. One fell right beside her, making her jump at the thud. She got a good look at the pretty bird, it's long tail feathers really were a sight with its long blue wings. The tail feathers started at blue than faded into orange toward the end. She noted to college a feather or two, Lexus wouldn't put it past her if these things were hunted for their feathers often.

After four were shot down, the rest seemed to take the hint and flew off further North West. With huff of success, Lexus knelt down to the bird, resting her crossbow as she plucked a long beautiful tail feather, feeling the softness against her fingers.

The sudden sound of a low moaning roar, Lexus looked over into the small open field to see a Dualhorn wandering about. It was different from the photos, it was dark shaded with its horns glowing bright red.

"Woah, that's an insane looking Dualhorn!" She stepped closer to the edge, seeing it stomp about wanting to charge at something.

That something, -or somethings- came into the distance. What would've been the odds of Lexus running into the same damn four guys again out in the middle of nowhere? Well, seemed pretty well done since those exact men were approaching the said Dualhorn.

She watched from the edge as Gladio stood up front, a large broad sword in his tight grip. The stomping turned into a charge as the red Dualhorn ran at them. As if swatting a fly, Gladio used his sword and swung at the creature, knocking it over to its side. She could hear Prompto cheer at the action, making her grin. Lexus could even see Noctis looking eager to fight the thing.

Once the struggle of the Dualhorn got over to get back on its feet, the four guys attacked it left and right. Gladio stuck by Noctis as he used a shield that materialized now and then, but kept use of the broadsword he held. Prompto kept his distance, the sound of gunfire echoing from him as she jump and slid about to get angled shots. Ignis jumped between ranged attacks with his daggers to close in stabbing with a polearm. Then Noctis, who moved about more than the others. One moment he was slicing his sword at the hind leg of the creature, then the next appeared somewhere else in the blink of an eye. Lexus found herself trying to keep track of the warping prince, but wasn't focusing on her balance of where she was.

She slipped on the smooth edge of the rock and found herself tumbling down and hitting the found on her back end with a cry. She groaned, sitting up as she rubbed her lower back, feeling the chances of a bruise growing there within a few hours.

"Stupid rock..." She grumbled, then heard stomping. Freezing on the ground, she slowly turned seeing the glowing red Dualhorn kick up dirt, finding a new target to charge at.

"Oh, shit! Lexus!" Prompto cried, the other three seeing who the new target was. "Run!"

"Not enough time!" Noctis yelled, throwing his sword her way.

Lexus stared at the rampaging creature as it charged at her. Her hands reached for her crossbow, but forgot she left it up on the ridge. Suddenly arms wrapped around her waist broke her eye contact and suddenly she was across the way on the other side where the Dualhorn had just smashed where she stood. Noctis let her go, summoning his sword as Prompto ran over.

Noctis warped right at the beast before a word could be said from him to the stunned girl. Prompto fired his gun, staying near Lexus just in case it spotted her again.

Thankfully it didn't as after Noctis swung the final blow, the red Dualhorn roared into the sky and fell onto its side with a loud thud, dead. Everyone took a breather, mostly the men as they were running around fighting the damn thing. Prompto gave a small cheer, turning to Lexus who still sat on the ground.

"You alright, thats was scary." He told, kneeling down to her.

"Yeah, whew." She shook her head, getting to her feet, Prompto stood, expecting her to stumble but she stood straight fine. "Another _prompt_ timing." She joked with a sigh.

"Thank Noctis, he swooped right on and got you out." He told, the three approaching the two.

Lexus looked to the prince, he didn't seem as reserve, actually making eye contact with her. "Thanks Prin- Um, thanks Noctis."

He shook his head, "What were you doing out here? A bit dangerous to be out here on your own." he asked.

Lexus scoffed, folding her arms. "Doing a favor, was killing some birds and just fell off the stupid ridge."

"Killing birds?" Ignis questioned

"With what?" Gladio inquired, seeing no weapon on her person.

Lexus frowned, then hung her shoulders and groaned. "I forgot, I left it on the damn ridge!"

"I-I'll get it!" Prompto offered, though Noctis was ahead of him. He warped onto the ridge and returned just as quick, the crossbow in his hands. "Or, you could just use your wrap power."

Noctis handed it to her, earning another thanks. She strapped it back on, adjusting the straps. "If you guys weren't out here, I'd been crushed."

"Like you said, prompt timing." The blond grinned.

Noctis' phone ran out, making him flinch and reach for it in his back pocket. Prompto teased with a 'ring ring' as he answered.

"How's the bike?" Gladio asked, looking down at her.

Lexus smiled, "All done, just came out here for Cid's offer." she informed.

"Offer?"

She nodded. "He wanted some Daggerquils taken care of. In exchange he upgrades my ride for these roads." She reached into her pocket and took out the long beautiful feather. "Check out this souvenir."

"It's a lovely sight." Ignis praised, stepping up to get a good look.

Noctis ended the call, looking up the the four. "Car's ready, and so are we."

"Let's head back together, we'll keep you safe, Lexus." Prompto offered as Noctis took lead for them all to venture back to Hammerhead.

"If I managed this far off, I can I would manage well on my own." She responded.

"Says the one who was nearly crushed." Ignis retorted, earning a glare at the back of his head.

Lexus huffed, "I'm not some battle driven crazies like you guys, but I can fight fine. Trained two years after all." she boasted.

"Only two?" Gladio remarked teasingly.

"Two was all I could get, before my uncle insisted I go adventuring out here." She told him.

"Like I said, fate." Prompto grinned, she shook her head amusingly at him.

They made their way out of the valleys and found the road, jogging and walking half and half up to Hammerhead. Lexus kept up with them well, but she also assumed they were slowing themselves for her.

"So, who's up next behind the wheel." Gladio asked his crew.

Prompto spoke up beside Lexus. "Ignis should take it and never let go."

Gladio seemed to have agreed, nodding to him. "It helps that he can keep four eyes on the dash."

"Ha!" The blond laughed. "I couldn't even keep one."

"Not sure I'd do any better." Noctis told, surprising Lexus with that joke of self doubt.

Ignis seemed content with the praise of being their driver. "Put me in the driver's seat."

Lexus stayed quiet, listening to how they interacted. They never really asked Noctis, being a prince and assumed leader of the four. These four certainly were an odd bunch to her.

"Good," Gladio added. "I need the legroom in the back."

Prompto turned to walking in front of Lexus backwards to face her, hands behind his head. "Lexus is lucky, all that bike room to herself."

"Can't really ride a bike with four, can we?" Ignis joked… Or she thought he did.

"Oh, you guys got each other's company." She waved, spotting Hammerhead up ahead- Thank the Six.

"Can't very well have a good nap on a bike, either." Noctis commented.

"You and your napping." Gladio groaned, making Lexus assume it was a bad habit of the Prince.

They all paused to take a break, being in dark clothing in this blistering head was now starting to be a bad idea in Lexus mind. Then again, the four men were no better with one wearing a damn blazer. He showed no mind to the heat though, unlike Prompto and Noctis who whined about it twice.

"I don't know how most of you are wearing what you are right now in this heat." She quipped, mostly eyeing Ignis.

He seemed to have caught her eye, folding his arms. "We've been trained to deal with worse."

"Speak for yourself." Noctis retorted, wiping the sweat from under his bangs.

"Hey Noct, it's rude to keep a girl waiting." Prompto told, seemingly eager to head back more than the others. "You'd better apolgi- What is _that_!?"

Everyone turned to where Prompto was pointing at in panic, up in the sky a large flying thing looked to be diving right for them. That was certainly _not_ a Daggerquil! It screeching pierced the sky as it dove and flew right over the group. They all ducked or crouched, not knowing how low it was going to come at them. It's size looked to be larger than all of Hammerhead alone!

"It's a live hurricane!" Noctis yelled over the gust of wind it brought with it.

"That thing's like half-bird, half-storm, half-airship!" Prompto cried.

Once the wind died down, the bird was must further out, growing smaller into the distant sky. "You realize that three halves." Gladio commented.

Ignis scoffed, "Would explain its size." he added.

Noctis grinned, the first sight of excitement Lexus had seen from him. "Awesome in every sense."

They watched it fly up and head South. Lexus watched it a bit longer, shaking her hand up and down to try and scramble for the name. She remembered Ajax warning her of this creature, if she could just remember the name.

After that mishap, it fueled the group to get back to Hammerhead even more- no breaks.

* * *

They finally walked up to the garage in Hammerhead, the blond chick who Lexus heard was Cindy was cleaning the car they were desperate to have back. While the men praised and gushed over the car and Cindy, Lexus found Cid lounging in a chair relaxing under the shade. Cid glanced up, chuckling as he got up.

"Got the problem dealt with?" He asked.

Lexus produced the feather once more, almost enough proof that she had done the deed. "I got a good few, they flew West and shouldn't bother you anymore."

"For a while, at least." Cid led her inside and there she saw her bike- It even looked cleaner than before. "Cindy wanted to give it shine before ya took it."

Lexus grinned widely, looking it over, she could see herself in the yellow metallic. "This is great, thanks!"

"Those headlights should do you good, still oughta be careful though." He warned, walking with her back out as she rolled the bike out.

They saw Cindy taking a photo of the men with their car, Prompto thanked her as Ignis and Noctis spoke. His eyes spotted her and he walked over to her. "Are you heading out?"

Lexus nodded, taking her helmet from the handle. "Before it gets dark. Spent enough of nearly a whole day here."

"Right, right…" He seemed nervous, she raised a brow at his fiddling with his camera. "I, er, never got a photo of you when we first met. Mind if…?" He held the camera up.

Lexus saw no harm in this, but was genuinely touched he wanted to keep a photo of her nonetheless.

"That's not creepy to ask, is it?"

She couldn't help but laugh and shook her head. "It's just sweet, is all. But sure, I don't mind.

"Awesome!"

The excited blond did some settings on his camera and stood next to her. She smiled, allowing his hand to move to her back as they positioned themselves for a selfie. They smiled as the camera clicked, Prompto softly cheering to himself.

"It takes a while for the photos to come out so-" He said, wanting to give her a copy.

Lexus shook her head, "I have my own ways of remembering people. You're going to be hard to forget this time around, Prompto." she assured him.

A hint of a blush was seen across his freckled cheeks, refraining from hugging her not wanting to make this awkward. Judging by his body movements he wanted to, according to Lexus, but was thankful he didn't.

"You be safe out there, Lexus!" Gladio called, hoping into the car.

Lexas gave a salute, "No worries!" She placed the helmet on and straddled the bike. They all waved as she took her leave, revving her engine and speeding off the head heading South.

* * *

Thankfully for her, no more pit stops were made but not that she favored it. She wanted to take her time, but the day was going to end soon and she had to get a place to sleep for the night. She had just made it to the coast, smelling the salty sea air and the breeze against her arms. Her eyes glistened at the sight of the water, and the large long dock of Galdin Quay out in the ocean. She was extremely eager to see this place before the day ended, it was even more beautiful in the evening! The lights were lit along the docks toward Galdin Quay, and the setting sun reflecting off the waters gave it the warm colors.

Lexus pulled her bike into a parking spot, making sure to center it in case anyone tried to squeeze whatever space for their cars. A constant problem she used to have in the city. Judging by the day ending, she got her bag of clothing and toiletries and walked toward the dock ready to spend the night on the shoreline. Her eyes were everywhere, seeing couples play at the water's each, splashing each other and people fishing off a smaller dock further along the beach. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, pumping into a solid form.

"Oh, sorry about that." She told, looking up to see purple like hair under a fedora. The man turned, his clothing rich and fancy, but his smile was soft.

"My apologies, my dear." He told, lifting his hat to greet her. "Simply just blocked the way of your path, no harm done?"

She shook her head, stepping back. He was something indeed, making Noctis look like a peasant and this guy more royalty like. "I wasn't paying attention, is all."

The man placed his head back on, nodding as he looked around at the scenery as if just noticing it. "Indeed, a beautiful sight." His eyes gleamed at her, making her nerves grow once more. "Have a lovely evening, my dear."

She nodded with a thanks, stepping around him and continuing toward Galdin Quay. Shaking her head thinking how weird that guy seemed, she made her way up the steps. A man dressed well in a vest with welcome combed her, greeted her.

"Welcome to Galdin Quay."

"Hello, where do I rent a room for the night?" She asked.

He extends his arm out in a direction. "Just toward the left across the eatery"

She thanked him and got her bag, walking in. She heard people talk about many things, the view, what to do tomorrow, how their day went. Some even talked about something Lunefreya said on the radio, about her duties as the Oracle when she marries. It still stunted her how someone like Noctis got with Lunefreya, but judging by the murmurs it was a political marriage. Made sense to her, with the treaty and all.

Lexus managed to get a room to herself with an amazing view! The sea and sunset was something she could stare at forever. Once settled, she took a photo of herself showing off the room to send to Roland. She called again and still got no answer back from him. She left another message, informing him of the bike fix, her first beast killings, and her interactions with the four man group. Lexus expressed in question to Roland if she should be happy meeting them again, especially Ignis.'

While Prompto treated her like all those years after the first meeting never happened, Ignis hadn't spoken much until it involved that incident. She was glad they didn't ask about it the second time they met up, and inwardly hoped they wouldn't meet again. She finished the voicemail and sighed, falling back onto the huge wide bed. She still couldn't believe she was out here, on her own, out of the city. Lexus expected to wake up back in her room above the bar tomorrow, this all being a dream.

It well could be, the part meeting Ignis and Prompto again could be the dream and the rest real. Now she sort of wished she had a photo like Prompto offered to prove it true. She stretched out, feeling the events of the day start to hit, exhaustion was getting to her.

"Nope!" She said, hoping off the bed. "Can't sleep on an empty stomach."

Lexus left her room, now noticing how dark it had gotten out from her long voice mail and moment of relaxation on her bed. It was less crowded at this point, a family and a few couples were having their dinner enjoying the nightly view. She walked over to the chef, who was enjoying grilling something that smelled amazingly delicious! Her stomach growled in attention to having whatever it was.

"Hello, what can I make you?" The blonde cheery chef asked, giving a small smile before going back to her cooking.

Lexus looked around, and found a menu propped up like a display of honor on the counter. There more of a selection this time around, made sense compared to a diner. Galdin Gratin, White Fish in Tomato Sauce, Sea's Bounty Risotto, Steamed Crab with Rock Salt, and Tenebraen Berry Opera. Her mouth watered at the selection, but instantly dried up at the site of the prices.

1,300 gil for the crab!? The white fish was just as much at 2,000 gil! It was pricey alone to stay at the hotel, but this was pushing her limits!

Her stomach battled her mind to get the food, but the limits on her gil were strict. She only brought the amount she had saved up for the near last minute trip from her work and a small extra from her uncle. With dejected sigh, she returned to her room and opened up the side of her bag fishing out Cup Noodles instant ramen.

"How sad." She muttered, preparing the cheap dinner.

Well, she wouldn't let this bum out her night. Once the noodles were ready, she took her cup and ventured outside to enjoy the night air and sounds of the waves.

* * *

Despite the traveling feeling far, having to stop, do a job, stop, arive, and do another job- The four friends finally got their ride to Altissa. Though because the access was so late in the night, they're boat ride would be delayed until tomorrow. For now, they could relax and have a good night's sleep.

Currently, Noctis was asleep on the bed waiting for his turn in the shower. Gladio had called dibs, near flinging Prompto who tried to call it first by racing him to the bathroom. He must have thought speed would be key, but forgot the fact he is a noodle compared to the beef that is Gladio. He would get second though, as Noctis instantly took a nap and Ignis wanted to make sure the prince gets his shower before him. Said man was sitting in a sofa chair reading a book.

For now, Prompto looked through the photos he took since they've left. Some photos were the battles they had, the car ride they had, and some selfies he took. He chuckled and smiled seeing them, tempting to turn and show Ignis some that had him in it. Then he came upon the photo he took with Lexus, puasing as he stood by the large wide window. The blond had only met her once, but she was the first kind person to her in his life. He had noticed some changes to her, mostly how she had grown up. But, she was a bit more on the quiet side and kept to herself. Nothing he wasn't used to with how Noctis was. He'd have to remember to develop this tonight, wanting to give her a copy the next time they meet.

His blue eyes searched up, he almost did a second take spotting the green pine tree hair outside! She was there again! His palm pressed against the glass, seeing her slurping on a cup of instant noodles. He frowned, wondering if she didn't favor the rich fancy foods they served here. Then again, could be a fund problem like they had. Prompto was almost tempted to go and meet with her, but the solemn look on her face said otherwise. He assumed she might be homesick or tired, his palm still rested against the window.

"See something, Prompto?" The blond glanced to Ignis, watching him curiously with the book now in his lap.

"Ah, just- Such a pretty night out!" He sheepishly answered. "I was going to take a photo, but the flash will glare off the glass."

"Why not go out and take it?" Ignis suggested. The temptation was strong to talk to her again, but something told him to leave her alone. "Something else on your mind?"

Prompto sighed, letting his hand drop to his side. "I noticed Lexus out there," Ignis placed the book down and made his way over taking his time. "I wanted to say hi, but she looks sad."

Standing beside Prompto, Ignis spotted her placing the cup down and slouching in her seat. She looked at the ocean before her, indeed she looked off.

"I don't blame her." He said, Prompto looked at him. "She said this was her first time outside the city, as it is for us." Ignis pushed his glasses up, placing a hand on his hip. "She must be tired, best to leave her be. If she's still here early morning, we can greet her before our leave to Altissa."

Prompto perked up, "Then I can give her the photo." he raised his camera as indication.

"Alright, who's next?" Gladio left the bathroom, clean and dressed for bed.

"Dibs! Me!" Prompto cheered, jogging to the bathroom ready to get clean from the day.


	8. Chapter 8

Early the following morning, Lexus found herself tangled in her sheets, rolling left and right in her sleep. Sweat formed on her tight features, suffering from a nightmare. Her whimpering echoed in the room, until she finally shot her eyes open with a gasp.

"Dad!" Sher cried, sitting up and taking a few heavy breaths.

Her blue eyes searched the room, for a moment not knowing where she was. The sound of the waves outside her window reminded her- Galdin Quay. She hung her head, combing her fingers through her messy bed head. She heaved a very heavy sigh, feeling all the dread attempt to leave her chest. Some of it still lingered.

She glanced to her phone, resting on the empty side of the bed to her left. She leaned over, grabbing it to check her messages. None, which means Roland never got back to her. She frowned, tossing the phone back onto the bed. Was he ignoring her? It's been twenty-four hours, he would've gotten back to her.

Lexus flopped over onto her back, letting herself wake up a bit more as the sun shined through the large windows. She groaned resting her arm over her eyes. "Why would they not have curtains…" Frowning, she sat up and spotted aid beige fabric ruffled up against the window. "...Oh, I just didn't close them."

Lexus took a breath and flew the blankets off her legs. "Awesome! Who knows how many creeps watched me sleep."

The girl had forgotten her uncle's lack of reply, deciding to figure out how the day should go. Spend another day here or eat breakfast and move on? Lexus wanted to enjoy the day time sights of the shore and what Galdin Quay had to offer. Though staying another day would be bad for her wallet, one night alone was expensive enough for her, having to eat Cup Noodles instead. She got her day started with a nice warm shower and dressed in clean clothes. Her hair brushed out and blow dried thanks to the one the hotel provided. She preferred air dry, but wanted to get herself packed so she wouldn't be charged another night. Her bag packed, she looked around the room making sure it was clean enough and all the trash taken care of. She had the used fluffy towels on the counter, trashcan by the door, and the bed sheets semi-fixed. Enough that they weren't tangled for when they would need to be cleaned for the next occupant.

Now, breakfast; She can't have noodles again after already having it for dinner last night. Maybe there's a diner she can stop at. She did remember passing a rest stop with the diner there. Lexus left the room, giving her key to the man at the front desk and making her way down the bridge to the parking lot. She hummed, rubbing her neck as she thought to herself.

Heading North she could stop at that pit stop, get breakfast, and head west toward the chocobo ranch. Lexus inward groaned reaching her bike, stuffing her back in the compartment under her seat and taking the map out. She scanned the area of Liede and found the stop, just North of where she was.

"Longwthye Rest Area, has a diner there. Can have a quick breakfast, fuel up, and be on my way." Lexus folded the mask, setting her helmet on.

"Can't believe it… It's like a nightmare."

"But it's true, right? It was in all the papers and on the radio."

"There's no hope with Lunafreya, the King, and Prince Noctis dead!"

Lexus spun her head around, what was that? She heard a couple looking distressed by their old buggy parked a few spots from her. The man rubbed his partner's arm in comfort as she covered her face. That didn't sound right, was a rumor going around since Noctis was out of the city? But, they did mention the Oracle and the King being dead. So, why did they mention Noctis too?

"There's no way into the city?"

Lexus turned, three people walking across the lot spoke among themselves.

"I just got a test from my friend, he says they are soldiers right at the border. He sounded terrified."

The third gave a sigh, "Should we leave or stay here?" they asked.

"Where would we go? What if they plan to close more borders?"

Panic started to rise in Lexus, this couldn't be real. Her eyes shot about, finding a news stand by the tackle shop. She dashed over, taking a paper and reading the front page.

**Insomnia Falls**

The paper went on how the treaty was about to happen, when the attack ignited onto the city. The King, found dead in the Citadel and the city torn to shreds after endless attacks throughout the night. She tried to find any list of survivors or casualties, but no list of that or even deaths were found. Just how the King was found dead, along with his son and the Oracle assumed dead as well. If Noctis being dead wasn't true, then maybe some of these claims were wrong as well.

The sudden vibration of her phone made her drop the paper to the wooden dock, scrambling to answer the device. "R-Roland!? Uncle Roland!?" She cried, gripping the found tightly in prayer that he was alive.

 _"Lexus Quintin?"_ The voice, that wasn't her uncle, nor Ajax. A voice of a man she had never heard before.

The feeling of rain started to patter around her, the weather started to change with her whole day.

"W-Who is this?"

_"Is this Lexus Quintin?"_

"Yes, now who are you!?" She barked into the phone, her voice cracking.

A sigh escaped, _"This is Cor Leonis, I was informed to call you."_ he told.

She rubbed her eyes, feeling frustrated and scared. "Why do you know me or my number? Who exactly are you!?"

The voice paused, _"...A friend of Roland."_ he answered.

Her heart skipped, another somebody she never knew. What a shock.

"I'm in Hammerhead. Are you able to drive and meet me here?" He asked. _"I'm sure you have questions that need answers."_

Lexus didn't answer, her breathing was heavy into the phone indicating him to respond.

 _"I'll be waiting for you. Drive safe."_ A click was heard, ending the call.

The rain wasn't pouring down on her, but was enough to start soaking her air and clothing. She didn't care, her head was a foggy mess, trying to figure out what to do.

Go to Hammerhead, maybe her uncle was there. He might've gotten out and is just hurt and can't answer or talk. Yeah, that had to be it. Lexus had to cling on any little hope that he was alive and alright.

* * *

With the news being true of King Regis' death, it was still a mystery whether Lunafreya had been killed as well. Gladio thankfully got word his little sister was fine, and was with refugees in Lestallum. It's rightfully assumed if the King was dead, so was his father being the King's shield. They needed answers, and Cor was the only proper man to have those for them.

As Ignis drove the Regalia up into Hammerhead, they found Cindy there waiting. She held a solemn look, as they exited the vehicle. "Glad ya'll made it." She greeted.

They all nodded, wasn't the best way of seeing the cute grease monkey again. "No weather for drivin', that's for sure." She commented.

"Our thanks." Ignis responded, rounding the car.

"Where's Cor?" Noctis asked, walking around the other end.

Cindy sighed, hands on her hips. "Left to see to business, and left ya'll a message with Paw-Paw." She explained.

"Yeah?"

"Just tell me already!" Barked a voice from the garage, a female voice. They all glanced over at the garage. "You were his friend! You have to know!"

They looked to Cindy in question, Gladio's eyes spotted a familiar yellow bike parked haphazardly by the diner. "Lexus?"

Cindy nodded, folding her arms as she crossed her ankles, leaning her weight to the side. "She's… a right mess. Cor called her to arrive and has been yellin' at Paw-Paw since. She got here a little before ya'll did."

"What happened?" Prompto asked, concerned.

The sudden clash of metal echoed from the garage, the four along with Cindy ran over seeing a wench throws across the room at some hubcaps sitting in the corner. Cid wasn't bothered, sitting in his chair as he watched her calmly. Lexus stood there, seething as she glared down at the old man.

Cindy approached her cautiously. "Lex-"

"Just tell me if he's dead already!" She screamed at Cid, still unphased by her lashing at him.

The four were shocked by this scene, Prompto highly concerned and slightly scared at her anger showing. Gladio and Ignis shared a look, assuming she wasn't going to hurt Cid, just wanted answers.

"Cor knows more than I do, I'm sorry." Was all Cid told her.

Her fists clenched tightly, nails digging into her palm without a care. Cindy slowly got to the steaming girl, hands on her shoulder. "Lexus, come with me." She urged, trying to turn her from her grandfather. "I'll show ya where Cor went so ya can meet with him."

She somehow agreed, allowing Cindy to lead her out of the garage. They four stepped aside, Prompto wishing to talk to her, but Gladio stopped him as they needed answers of their own.

Cindy led her outside, toward her bike. Lexus seemed to have calmed down enough to get her map out for Cindy to look over. The blonde rubbed her arm comfortingly now and then to relax her best she could. Once she laid the map out, Cindy took her pen from behind her ear and leaned over, circling a location North West of them.

"You can meet with him at Prairie Outpost, it's not far from here. Two minutes drive if the rain lets up." She explained, circling the spot with her black pen.

"Do you know who he is, exactly, Cindy?" She asked, rubbing her forehead to ease the coming headache from her earlier temper flare.

Cindy gave a supportive smile, "He's a good guy, trust me. Ever heard of Cor, The Immortal?" She asked.

Lexus frowned, then gasped, taking a step back. "I-I hadn't thought- He's really him!?"

"Yup!" Cindy tucked the pen away and folded the map, handing it to Lexus. "You gonna be alright driving? The way you cme in, I was sure it was gonna tip and knock you right off."

Lexus sighed, tucking the map into her leather jacket's breast pocket. "I can't wait for my emotions to come to a stand by. The more time I waste, the more emotional I'll get."

"Just, drive safe please?" Cindy glanced to the garage, spotting the Prince and his friends heading to the car. Her Paw-Paw must have said all that he needed on Noctis' father's fate. "Maybe you should go with them? They were called up by Cor too."

Lexus slid her helmet on, glancing over to see the same four from yesterday. She hadn't even noticed they were there when she was screaming up a storm. "As in follow or ride?"

"Whichever is better for ya, I can always deliver the bike if-"

Lexus shook her head, waving his hand. "No, no. I.." She cleared her throat, coughing a bit. "I think it's just a comfort for me to ride my bike, right now. Y'know?"

"Oh, I get ya, darlin'!" She assured, stepping aside for her to straddle the bike. "Still, follow behind him, ya may as well. Going to see Cor together and all." Cindy encouraged her.

Lexus gave a final glance to the car, seeing the blond spiky Prompto glancing over worriedly as the car roof converted into a convertible mode. Giving in, she sighed and nodded, starting her bike up.

"Great! I'll give them a heads up!" Cindy jogged over as Lexus maneuvered her bike, backing up and revving it as she drove slowly toward the car.

Cindy explained a bit as Lexus came over, "Ya'll set?" Ignis, the designated driver, and Lexus both nodded. "Drive safe!"

Lexus moved back to allow Ignis to take lead, slowly driving the car out of the lot and onto the road heading toward Prairie Post. Lexus turned sharply, near leaving a burn out and she drove off following the gorgeous green car. Ignis seemed to be a calm and slow driver, taking his time as he led them all to the outpost. Lexus was anxious, wanting nothing then to speed past and just get there. But, the thought of Imperials possibly invading the rest of Lucis popped into her mind, the logic part of her brain telling her to just follow and stay close.

"So, about Lexus-" Prompto brought up, looking over his shoulder seeing her behind them.

"Yeah, what was that about?" Noctis asked.

"No doubt worry for her uncle." Ignis told.

Prompto took in a breath, "I forgot, she had family back there." he paused. "Do you think?"

"It's anyone's guess." Gladio spoke up. "Being an ex-crownsguard, I wouldn't be surprised if he helped get as many people out of the city."

Prompto turned back again, looking to Gladio. "Do you think her uncle knew too?"

"Who knows…" Noctis muttered.

Ignis sighed, moving his arm to rest on the door as the other held the wheel tightly. "Her timing of venturing outside the city seems perfect. Wouldn't you say?"

Gladio leaned forward, "So he did know." he concluded. "He had her leave, like the King having Noctis and us leave."

"To protect her." Specs added with a nod. He stole a glance at his mirror, seeing her following along, visor down unknown what she was thinking or her expression under the helmet. No doubt, she was suffering deep pain and confusion, like the rest of them were.

* * *

The ride to the outpost was as short as Cindy claimed. The sun was high in the sky when they arrived, mid to late afternoon as best. Ignis pulled the car off the dirt road and to the side, Lexus came around pulling her bike over in front of the car. Everyone filed out, Lexus removed her helmet, fixing her hair.

Ignis looked around, "This must be the outpost Cid mentioned." he said.

"Looks like a hub for hunters." Gladio guessed, seeing some guys walking around the property.

Prompto looked over as he came around the car. "Maybe they know something."

"The only person who has answers is Cor." Lexus told sharply, taking her stride right into the poor excuse of a building. The four followed after, fearful she'll cause a scene like with Cid.

Lexus heard people praising food and some talking about hunts, others over a radio talking about the fall of Insomnia. She looked around, not knowing what the hell Cor even looked like.

"Lexus Quintin?" A woman called, she turned to find a short haired middle aged woman, who held kind but a stern look.

"I know you're not Cor." She retorted shortly.

"No, I'm Monica Eishett, Cor is-"

"Monica." Her attention quickly switched to the arrival of Noctis and his friends.

Monica knelt down, bowing to Noctis as he approached. "Your Highness," She greeted. "I'm glad your safe."

Lexus snarled in Noctis' direction, of course he'd get the greeting and answers before her. Monica stood, looking at Lexus. "Your Uncle Roland was helping the Crownsgaurd when the city was attacked."

Lexus' attention fell back to Monica. "He fought? In his condition?"

"He helped people escape the city, alongside Ajax in an attempt to save as many lives as possible." She explained, her face falling. "Most of the Crownsguard didn't make it. It was all we could do to escort Lady Iris out of the city. Roland and Ajax got her safely through the city, brought her to us. We lost contact after that."

Gladio flinched, glancing to Lexus. Her uncle had…

"Dustin is with her as we speak, seeing her the rest of the way to Lestallum." Monica told him.

Gladio nodded, arms folding over his broad chest. "I owe you guys big time… And your uncle, Lexus."

"But what _about_ Ajax and my uncle? They made it out, right?" Denial was in her gut, refusing to accept what it was Monica was telling her. "Right?"

Monica swallowed, giving a small glance to Noctis. "Head for the royal tomb. The Marshall awaits."

The four hesitated, but left as Monica led Lexus outside to talk. It didn't take long, but a bone chilling cry filled their ears. Prompto stopped for a moment, looking back. His heart broke hearing the harsh cries of anguish from Lexus, finally learning the tragic fate of her uncle. He had died after all. Specs looked back, spotting Monica comforting her, Lexus on the ground as she cried.

"Come along, Prompto." Ignis called, as they resumed their travel to meet with Cor.

"So… He didn't make it." The blond spoke up after a few minutes of silent walking.

"Seems so." Ignis nodded.

Gladio sighed, Ignis looked to him to talk. "Her uncle Roland, and Ajax, I knew them but only by their reputation among the Crownsgaurd. My father told me of their actions, how Roland nearly died saving Ajax when the city was attacked a long time ago." Gladio shook his head. " I owe Lexus, her uncle died to save many people, including Iris."

"We should talk to her, after meeting the marshal." Prompto suggested.

Noctis nodded, agreeing with the notion. "I know how she feels." He muttered to himself.

"She hasn't had a simple easy life." Ignis spoke. "During that race incident, her father ended up paralyzed, as reported. Judging by how she lives with her uncle, I'd say her relationship with her parents are estranged."

"She saw it?" Noctis asked.

Ignis nodded, "Right before her very eyes." he told them.

"How do you know?" Prompto asked.

Ignis kept silent, rather the walk be quiet the rest of the way.

He knew...Because he was there.

* * *

_His green eyes wandered in search of the little pine haired girl he assured he'd see today. With his Highness resting when he returned, Ignis was given permission to see the race. He took to account her father was in the race, and could be up front at the line to see the race start and finish. His slim figure maneuvered through a crowd, to his left he spotted green hair pushing through the crowd, though she failed to see him. He followed the sight of her hair until the gap was found._

" _Daddy!" She cried, in her little fist was a necklace with a black feather at the end. She lifted it up, showing to her father who Ignis saw led the charge of racing birds._

_She wasn't kidding when she said her father was a great racer, leading already in front. But Ignis must have thought that too soon, for when that sharp turn came, his chocobo lost grip on the asphalt and felt onto it's side with a cry, her father tumbling off of the bird. People gasped around him, then he saw the approaching stampede of the other chocobo racers- he knew exactly what was to come. Her father screamed in horror as the chocobos trampled over him onto the pavement. His legs clawed and bent in different directions, it was a traumatizing sight. The crowd screamed and cried at the accident, scrambling about to do something._

_Ignis' eyes fell onto the pine haired girl, who's grip dropped off the necklace, clinking to the cement below her. Watching her father be stomped down by the birds so furiously and fast, almost as if you'd blink and miss it. Her mother beside her scooped her up and rushed off, uncle in toe. Ignis jogged over, kneeling down in the chaos as he picked up the black feather, the end connected to the chained necklace._

_The boy turned and tried to follow after the hurried panicked family, but found the equally panicked crowd pushing him back further from them. Eventually he lost sight and got out of the crowd as the officials and guards arrived to control the people. Sirens echoed through, red and blue lights shining against the buildings as they tended to the wounded father. Ignis had lost track completely of the pine haired girl, looking down at the necklace she had dropped during the horrifying moment of her father's fate. He'd swear to see her again and return the necklace to her- One day._

* * *

It felt like an eternity, but finally the crew of boys returned to the outpost after a long conversation and battle driven travel with Cor. Night had fallen when they arrived, and they were all tired and hungry. Ignis suggested they stay the night or camp, avoiding a crowded tent, Noctis took the opportunity to sleep there.

"Everything went well?" Monica asked, as she was cooking some stir fried rice for them.

"If you could call it that, then sure." Noctis told her.

Prompto stepped up, "Um, where is Lexus?" he asked in concern. "We heard and-"

"Sleeping, for now." Monica answered. "We gave her some room to stay, it's best she sleeps all this off for tomorrow."

Prompto nodded, twiddling his fingers in worry. "What… happened?"

Monica sighed, grabbing some small plates and serving the rice to them. They all sat under the sparing light outside as she led them to explain. "Roland knew what was to happen, just as many others. Ajax, His Majesty, your uncle, and your father." She told, referring to Gladio, Ignis, and Noctis' family.

Monica looked to Gladio. "You're father told Roland what was to come of the treaty, asking to be in the aid of evacuation when the time came. All that Roland asked in return, was to send Lexus out of the city for her safety. He abide, and that's why she's out here today."

"Oh man…." Prompto looked down at his dish, feeling so bad for her.

"My old man, it's thanks to him she's out here and alive?" Gladio asked. "Owe her more than ever."

" _Both_ she and her uncle would've been victims of the attack if he hadn't warned Roland." Ignis concluded.

"You're right." Monica confirmed, she looked at them all. "She has family at a ranch in Duscae, before we lost contact Roland requested she get to her family safe and sound."

Gladio sat up straight, nodding to her. "No questions asked, we'll get her there."

Noctis frowned at him. "Hey, wait!" They turned to him. "We have our own stuff to deal with."

Gladio stared at him down, "I owe her, it's not the worst thing in the world." he told.

"Although Noctis is right," Ignis spoke, adjusting his glasses. "What we gathered from Cor, she can't move unless we gain access from the closed borders the Imperials have taken over. We need to head to Duscae anyway."

"Even though we'll have imperials on our back?" Prompto asked, he felt split on the two deciding factors. Leave her safe or vulnerable, to keep her safe and endangered.

Monica cleared her throat, "She was taught to fight by Ajax, how to defend and deal with threats." She added. "This is nothing of her training, but Roland would be thankful."

They all looked to one another, how could they deny a dead man's last wish like that? Noctis sighed nodding to himself. "We'll help her to her family."

"It's decided then." Ignis agreed.

"Early morning we'll be invading the base Cor explained to gain access of Duscae." Monica explained. "Lexus will join us, but stay behind for safety."

"She can stay with the car." Ignis suggested. "If any danger occurs, she has her bike for a quick get away."

Prompto fidgeted, "Should one of us stay with-"

"We need all the manpower we could have, if we're going against an Imperial base." Gladio dismissed, Prompto sunk back in agreement.

It was settled, be it Lexus agreed or not. She laid in the made shift crappy bed, not far from the group who discussed their plans over a late dinner. She slept as soundly as possible, exhausted from the day's events, even more so than the day before. At this moment, her life took a third change.

* * *

The next morning Lexus found herself waiting by the car and her bike as the four man group she'd be escorted with were discussing the plans once more on invading the base. She had already been told herself by Gladio, she didn't argue or anything. At this point, she felt no need to even care where she was going or what she was doing. The day before felt like a nightmare she hoped to be, but judging the mood, who she was with, and how she felt; It was reality. The hunters lent her a camping tent, as Gladio explained they will be camping at times asking how she felt about that. She just shrugged, agreeing it was fine.

Once all was packed and ready, the four made their way to the car. "Ready to head out." Gladio informed her, earning a nod as she slipped her helmet on.

"She's awfully quiet." Prompto softly commented to his friends.

"As expected." Ignis told, sliding into the driver's seat.

Once the car was full and Lexus' bike was revving the crew made their way toward the base to gain access to Duscae. Hm, Lexus hadn't been to this land in over ten years, she wondered how much it had changed since she lived in the city. The large wetlands of the beasts on the plains and the many waters to fish from. Along with the open land to ride chocobos as freely as they desired.

Lexus was left with the vehicles once they got to their rendezvous point, assured if anything happened to drive off quickly. She nodded, sitting against the pylon watching them run off to meet with Cor and Monica.

She drifted to her own thoughts, feeling numb throughout this journey so far. Half of her wanted to just crouch into a hole and cry forever, while the other… Didn't know what to do really. The stress rose in her head and nerves thinking over what to do. Just, go to the ranch and hide there with her parents? Did they even care if she was dead or alive? They had to have heard the news of Insomnia, but they didn't have her number so, but they were expecting her-

It hit her, like a truck on the road. Lexus got to her feet and dug into her breast pocket to find the letter her parents sent. No, they never sent this letter at all. For a while after Monica explained everything, Lexus denied he ever knew and it was just coincidence. But at this moment, reading the damned letter over fifty times, Lexus accepted her uncle knew what he was doing. Her grip in the paper threatened to rip it apart, and she folded it, turning it as if ready to shred it to pieces. But… She found the want to die down, realizing this was her last communication with her uncle. Tearing this up, would be tearing him apart to her.

Lexus crouched down to the cement and hid her face, the letter tightly in her fist. He died for her to live, he died for her to be safe and keep going out here. He made that decision, even though it led to his demise. She is here, breathing and living now because of this.

"Lexus?"

The pine haired girl stood, rubbing her eyes as she found the bespectacled man approach her. It still hurt her seeing him, but she felt no anger as he walked up to her.

"Everything alright?" He asked. His concern wasn't as laced with his tone like Prompto, but was worried nonetheless.

She let her shoulders fall, nodding either way.

"Well, let's get going. We can continue onward to Duscae." He informed, turning for the door. He felt a tug on his sleeve, he turned finding Lexus grip his blazer. "What is it?"

Her eyes locked down on the ground, unable to meet his. She struggled to find the confidence to ask, but swallowed it back down and let his sleeve go. "N-Nothing."

He let her arm drop, turning fully to her. "If it's anything, I'm sorry for your loss." He told, his voice soft and considerate. "We've all lost someone in this, my own uncle, Gladio's father, Prompto's parents-"

"What are you saying?" She snapped, glaring at the asphalt.

Ignis paused, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "I'm saying, you're not alone in this."

He wasn't wrong, her eyed traveled up to find those green eyed once more behind the glasses. "You're right." She admitted, though her voice was void of emotion.

"We could take our time getting to the ranch, there's no rush getting me there." She suggested, taking a breath and pocketing the letter deep into her jacket's breast pocket. "Monica told me these tombs Noctis has to find."

Ignis nodded, reaching for the driver's door, "It'd be best if we take you to safety first and foremost. Can't risk endangering you finding these tombs."

Lexus was about to argue, but found she didn't care.

Ignis got into the car, starting it up as she slipped her helmet back on and straddled her bike. She followed him up to the now open and deserted base. She had no idea how many Imperials were here, but the side of the burning broken down mech proved it was a feisty battle. The three remaining members got into the car, Lexus heard Ignis suggest they stop at the next gas station to refuel for their long drive to the ranch. She hoped the drive would last for a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

Corenix Station- Alstor, was their pit-stop for gas and supplies. Noctis took care of filling the car's gas, Lexus checked on her bike's condition after pushing it more than she should've, after fixing the clutch cable. Noctis watched as Prompto walked out of the Crow's Nest Diner, a bag of fries he was munching on. He mentioned being hungry, but it wasn't a time for having a big meal. Ignis and Gladio were in the shop getting needed supplies, Prompto nearly swaggered his way over to Lexus who was crouching down checking her bike. He spoke to her, lowering his bag of fries as an offering. She just stared at them and turned back to her tinkering. Prompto looked dejected and made himself scarce of her, walking to his princely buddy.

"Rejected?" He asked the blond.

Prompto leaned against the Regalia with Noctis, picking at his fries. "She said she wasn't hungry." He told him.

Noctis stole a fry. "Don't take it personally."

"Of course not," He shrugged, glancing over to her. "Just worried, is all."

"Give her time." They turned to see Ignis and Gladio return, bags of supplies ready to be shoved into the trunk. "She did lose her closest family, after all." Gladio reminded them.

"And her only remaining family might not even know she's alive." Ignis added, popping the trunk and placing the stuff inside carefully. Not wanting it to jumble and roll around as Noctis drove.

"You guys like to talk about me behind my back, don't you?" Ignis looked over the trunk door, seeing Lexus standing in front of the car glaring at him. She must have approached when he wasn't looking.

Ignis felt guilty, clearing his throat as he avoided her deep stare. Not the best way to reconnect with an old friend- Talking about them in such a manner. "My apologies." He muttered, shutting the trunk down.

Prompto rubbed his neck sheepishly at the awkward air around them. "So, how far is the ranch from here?"

Lexus sighed, reaching into her pocket and pulling her map out. She spread it out on the hood of the car, the guys gathered around to see it. She pointed her finger at the map, where 'Alstor' was labeled. "We're right here," She moved to the South East, stopping at a spot that had two loop circles. "This is the ranch. It looks to be maybe a ten minute drive depending on the stops we make."

Noctis nodded, folding his arms. "Well-" His phone suddenly rang out in his back pocket. Noctis fished it out, answering it. "Hello?" A female's voice was heard on the other end. "Iris?"

Leaning on the hood on her palms, Lexus raised a brow to the other three. "My little sister, Iris." Gladio said.

She nodded, remembering she was the one her Uncle helped escape. Lexus folded up the map, but Noctis' hand pressed it down flat, showing he wasn't done reading it. He continued on the phone, hearing her voice through the receiver. Lexus gave a look that he ignored.

"Yeah, will do." He responded, and hung up the phone pocketing it.

Gladio scoffed, arms folded over his chest. "Can't even call her own brother."

Ignis looked to him, "In all fairness, yours wasn't the obituary broadcast all over Lucis." he countered.

Noctis felt his arm tugged, looking down to see a glaring blue eyed female piercing at him. "You mind?" She questioned.

"Not yet," He said, brushing her hand off his arm as he looked down at the map. "Any lakes nearby?" He asked.

Lexus huffed and looked at the map beside him. "There," She pointed at a blue blip on the map South of them. "Alstor Slough, why?"

"Just wondering." He dismissed, moving his hand to allow her to finally fold it back up.

Gladio grinned as he moved to take a seat in the back. "Just wondering if you can get some time to fish."

Noctis looked at him, Lexus raised a brow. "Fishing?" She never would think Noctis would like such an old man sport.

"Oh, he just loves fishing." Prompto grinned, hopping into the front passenger seat. He got a stern look from Ignis nearly spilling the fries.

"Come on, Specs. Let's have a little fishing trip." Noctis said Ignis, who folded his arms in thought. "It's on the way to the ranch."

"And we could do with some nicely fresh cooked fish tonight." Prompto added.

That might have triggered Ignis to agree, from seeing the curious glint in his eye. "Alright."

Noctis grinned, jumping right into the driver's seat as Ignis was the last to climb in. "Lexus!" Noctis called as she walked over to her bike, she paused looking over. "You take the lead!" He called, waving his arm.

* * *

The lead she did take; Lexus drove a bit faster than how Ignis drove, but Noctis kept up well. They traveled along the road, Prompto with his camera taking as many great scenery shots as much, along with some of the guys in the car. With a change, he zoomed the camera up at Lexus' helmet, her face hidden under the dark visor. He zoomed out a bit, and snapped a clear great photo of her on her bike as they took a curved turn.

Lexus waved her hand off to the left indicating to park. She pulled into the side with the car behind her, both parking off the road. She slipped her helmet off, setting the kickstand up. "Not too far." She told them, getting off her bike and taking her crossbow off the back.

"We could've walked." Gladio joked, as they left the car.

Noctis gave him a look, indicating he wouldn't like that idea. "Well, we'll be walking either way." She pointed down as she headed toward the concrete steps, with the four men in tow. "There's a trail that leads right to the lake. Can fish 'til your heart's content."

Gladio stretched his arms as they got to the dirty path, green grass surrounding them. The trees shifted as a breeze came by, Lexus brought a hand up to keep her hair blowing in her face. She stepped onto the path and turned back to the boys, "Let's get going-"

Suddenly a snarling was heard behind her as she turned her back. A pack of Voretooth came out from the nearby bushes, one jumped ready to strike at Lexus. The boy cried out, Prompto ready to fire his gun as it materialized into his hand.

Shockingly, Lexus seemed to have known as she turned and raised her leg in a high kick, slamming her foot right into the large angled jaw of the Voretooth, sending it to the ground. It cried, scrambling to stand, as another jumped to attack her. Her reflexes were faster than these weak creatures, slipping her crossbow over her shoulder, firing at the beast. The bow rammed straight into his neck, falling to the ground dead beside its pack.

The men were stunned, watching the pack realize their mistake and start fleeing into the safety of the woods. She sighed, letting her crossbow's strap hang off her shoulder. "Pain in the ass, I knew they were stupid, but faster than I read up."

When she turned to the four, she saw them armed and ready, but their expressions were not matching. They all stared at her as if she had grown four heads. She raised a brow, adjusting her crossbow to be positioned onto her back.

"Er, don't worry. Those things are barely worth killing off, once they learn their lesson, they back off. Or so I read." She turned her back, walking up the path.

Dismissing their weapons, the four exchanged looks of surprise and uncertainty. They were told Ajax and Roland had trained her in fighting, but just assumed normal self defense. Not fighting beasts!

Prompto pumped his fists and ran up, walking beside Lexus as he praised how badass she looked. Though she brushed it off, a hint of a blush was found dusting her cheeks. Gladio rubbed his neck looking just as weary as Ignis. How much could this girl hold on her own?

"Is it really that big a deal that I took down two Voretooths?" She questioned as Prompto kept praising as they got closer to the lake. The other three behind them were early quiet.

"It's not everyday we see a civilian hold their own." Said Gladio.

Lexus looked over her shoulder, throwing her thumb at her crossbow. "Well, I'd be a bit screwed without my baby here." She told, indicating the weapon. "Remember back when you guys were dealing with that Dualhorn?" They nodded. "I would've been able to help if I hadn't left this back there."

"Can you do spells too?" Prompto asked, a sparkle in his eye.

Lexus chuckled, "I'm no Crownsgaurd, and I wasn't taught that far in my training." she rubbed her face feeling embarrassed by the attention Prompto was giving her. "To be honest, I was only supposed to learn just how to defend against assholes in the city. It just escalated to that with day one."

"Assholes?" Prompto asked, "Were you getting mugged?" he inquired with worry.

She patted his arm reassuringly. "Just a small birthday incident. Ajax taught me how to defend, avoid, attack, use my weapon both close and distant combat, and about all the beasts in the land of Lucis."

Ignis nodded, understanding now. "That's how you knew how to handle those creatures."

"Exactly." She confirmed, snapping her fingers. "Some creatures I do remember back when I lived out here as a kid. Such as those things."

Lexus pointed out into the lake, where the loud groaning they've been hearing for a half hour was coming from. Gigantic long necked beasts waded wading through the water, heads low just above the lake. Only two or three were seen, one's large head turning this way and that as it walked in the center, the deepest part of the late. The other two, a little smaller, slept with their necks curled around their bodies.

"Woah!" Prompto gasped.

Noctis stared out at them. "Amazing…!"

"What are they?" Gladio asked, as they paused their walking to take in the sight.

"Catoblepas." She answered, watching the one's large head slowly turn to see something in the water. "Don't worry, they barely leave the water and are pretty peaceful creatures. So, it's safe to fish in this lake, in case you were wondering. Just keep any mushrooms away, my dad used to tell me they love the stuff."

Prompto seemed really hyped, he was near skipping in his step as they continued the path almost at the lake's dock. "I have _got_ to get a photo of that!"

As they reached the fishing dock, Lexus stopped as Noctis walked to the end of it, summoning his fishing pole. Ignis and Gladio gave him some space, Prompto followed Lexus to sit at the lake's shore line. He took his camera out, already taking photos of the lake, Noctis fishing, and tried to take one of Lexus, but she blocked her face.

"Aww, don't be like that." He whined, shifting to get her face, but she constantly turned away or blocked it. "What, camera shy?" Prompto teased.

As much as she wanted to laugh, she found herself just frowning at his attempts. "I just think you shouldn't waste your photos on me."

Ignis looked over after Noctis caught his third horned bluegill. Prompto lowered the camera at her words. "You're not a waste, I like taking photos of my friends. Builds memories together."

Memories, she thought. Memories were nothing but nightmares to her. She stood, and turned away, moving along the edge of the lake. "Just, take pictures of something else."

Prompto didn't follow her, he looked to the others, earning a head shake from Ignis to leave her be. Prompto did, switching his photography skills to trying to get a photo of the Catoblepas. Lexus seemed to be wanting to be friendly, and that was who she was. But, the pain of the change in her life was reminding her not to be. Hopefully, it would pass and they'd see her cheery true self soon enough.

* * *

Lexus sat by a small hill edge, feeling the green blades skim her fingers as she rested her hands in the grass. The wind felt nice, blowing her hair behind her instead of her face, as she watching the Catoblepas wander around in the lake. She brought her legs up, hugging them as she rested her chin on her knees. Lexus didn't mean to brush Prompto off, but she really wasn't wanting any photos taken of her. What point? Memories, he told her. Memories she can hold when she's with her parents again? Her teeth clenched feeling the anger bubble up, just thinking about them made her want to kick the pebbled by her feet.

She stole a glance at the guys, some fisherman was talking to Noctis who seemed excited over something. She raised a curious brow, but not curious enough to go find out. Lexus rather her space with everything going through her mind. She wanted to spend a day just self loathing over two deaths in her life and the loss of a home. But, Lexus couldn't have that luxury, and neither could they.

Remembering what Ignis said, she wasn't the only one who lost family and a home. He had lost an uncle, Prompto lost both his parents, Gladio lost his father, and so did Noctis. Lexus was glad Gladio still had his sister, being an only child, she couldn't imagine the fear he had if she was safe. Maybe, she wasn't too off. Lexus did still have her parents, something those four didn't have anymore or at all. Should she consider herself lucky?

* * *

"How do you feel about fish dishes?" Ignis asked, as Lexus rejoined them after she was done having her pity party.

"I never had fish before, of any kind." She told, folding her hands behind her back.

"Well, get ready for your first dish." He encouraged, adjusting his glasses. "Noct caught some well sized Barramundi, that'll be our dinner."

She nodded, "Already sounds good." she smiled softly.

"Oh, you have no idea what you're about to experience." Gladio said, walking over to her, arms folded. "Ignis is a cooking genius."

"Come now." Ignis shook his head at the praise. "Simply years of doing something will get you somewhere."

"Hope you're not a picky eater." Gladio teased, nudging her shoulder.

She shifted, trying to get into the same happy mindset as the guys. "Not at all, I pretty much eat anything you set in front of me."

"Well, no need to stand around." Ignis spoke, as Noctis finished talking to the fisherman from earlier. "Time to set up camp."

"What's the closest haven?" Noctis asked.

Gladio brought a hand up to look at the sights of the plains before him, looking this way and that. "I saw us pass one back near the car. May as well head to that one, so we don't come trekking back out here so far."

Prompto nodded, "Sounds like a plan!" he cheered.

Lexus was nervous but excited- She had never gone camping before. She came grateful of having that tent, thinking of sharing one with the boys would be… beyond imaginable.

The five walked back to the car just as the sun was starting to set. Gladio carried most of the supplies and Lexus helped Ignis with the food and grill. The heaven was perfect for sights beyond the lake and plains of Duscae. Folded chairs were set up around the fire pit, and Gladio got to work setting their tent up, offering to do Lexus' tent as well. Ignis set the grill and started to prepare dinner, he looked like he was in his natural element instantly. Prompto did his usual, taking photos of the guys, being sure to keep Lexus out as she requested. Noctis relaxed in his chair, taking his phone out to be playing something on the device.

Lexus felt really out of place, watching the four as if this was a usual routine. She wanted to help, but didn't know the first thing of camping to help with!

Almost as if sensing her raising nerves, Ignis called to her. "Lexus, mind giving a hand?"

She stood from her chair and walked over to see Ignis sipping a cup of something- smelled like coffee. "Er, yeah?"

"Know anything about cooking?" He asked, giving her a glance over his mug.

She nodded. "Yeah, I cooked a lot once old enough." Roland wasn't the best cook despite owning the bar. He only ever knew to serve pretzels and fries.

"Good, mind preparing the potatoes?" He asked, placing the mug down and offering her a knife and a few said potatoes.

"Sure, how would you like them?" She asked, moving over to the cutting table beside the grill.

He gave a glance, preparing the batter. "Diced, if you don't mind."

She nodded with her soft smile, "No problem." she told.

Ignis prepare the batter in silence, watching how Lexus cut the potatoes. Nothing how he would cut, but she knew what 'diced' meant unlike Noct or Prompto whenever he asked for help. She was highly focused on her cutting, being careful and not wanting to speed through or get it done and over with.

"May I ask, who taught you to cook?" He asked, stepping very carefully on the thin ice he was invading.

"Oh, I taught myself." She told him with ease, so far so good. "Not that I can cook you around two ways to Sunday."

Ignis chuckled, moving to get the pan and get oil to prepare frying the fish. "I trust you, Gladio was over exaggerating. I find this as more of a hobby."

"A dedicated one, but the sounds of it." She teased, earning a grin from him. Lexus moved the first diced potato onto a plate to her right and started dicing the second. "I can cook common things, mostly breakfast meals or small dinners."

"Such as?" He asked, raising a curious brow.

She paused in her chopping, looking up at the growing evening sky in thought. "Ahh, anything with eggs. Waffles though, I am a badass!" She grinned, much wider this time around.

Ignis hummed, taking the slices of the fish strips and dipping them into the batter, and gently placing them into the pan. They sizzled as they cooked, Ignis very careful not to let any oil jump at him to burn.

"Making enough waffles eventually had me constantly making waffles and deep fried Daggerquil wings for dinners. Such a good combo." She nodded to herself, finishing the second potato.

Ignis grew intrigued, pausing in placing the third fish slice in. "That's an interesting combination, indeed."

He had the urge to ask for the recipe, but would that be pushing it far? He could ask her to make it, but that might be the same level too.

Without any other word to encourage her further, she placed the knife down and looked at him expectantly. "Anything else?"

Oh, was there anything else she could help with? His green eyes fell onto the potatoes. "Will just need those cooked, do you mind?" He asked.

Lexus nodded, taking a smaller pan and started frying the potatoes, careful of the amount of oil. To say seeing someone cook alongside Ignis was weird, was something the rest of guys thought. It got to a point between the four that Ignis had the kitchen, and only trusted himself to it. He tried to catch Prompto and Noctis to maybe teach them how to cook. That led to burnt food or a near fire. It almost looked natural as the two worked well together making dinner.

"Looks like Lexus found her natural vibe with Iggy." Gladio commented, grunting as he sat in his chair after the tents were set up.

Noctis shook his head, "No kidding." he agreed.

Prompto nodded, he really wanted to take a photo of the moment. But also wanted to respect her wishes. Maybe if he was discreet, she wouldn't know. Almost like hunting a prey, he slowly raised his camera and leaned forward in his seat, setting the zoom and focus. Gladio and Noctis watched in amusement, the two sharing a look. Gladio leaned over, acting as if he was about to stretch his arms and then shoved Prompto. The force was enough for him to yelp, the camera snapped before he fell out of his chair. Thank the Six his camera was unharmed in the fall!

Gladio and Noct laughed at his face when Ignis and Lexus turned to see the commotion.

"Not cool, guys!" He barked at them, looking at the screen of his camera. It took the photo just as the two turned with a look of surprise on their faces. He almost laughed, it was like they were caught doing something.

"You okay, Prompto?" She asked.

"Uh- er, yeah! Just, slipped and fell is all!" He lied, not wanting to get caught for going against her wishes.

"It's almost ready." She told with a smile, the two turning back to finish dinner. Prompto glared at his two friends who just focused on their phones as if nothing happened.

The meal was done as promised, and Ignis prepared the dishes as if they were straight out of a fancy cookbook. Lexus chuckled as he handed her the plates. "You sure you only do this for a hobby?"

"Cross my heart." He grinned, as they handed the plates to the others, and sat down to enjoy their own. "Bon appétit."

The guys dug into their dishes, but then savored the food once they got a taste. "Outdone yourself again, Iggy." Gladio praised, then pointed his fork to Lexus. "You did great too, potatoes are out of this world."

Lexus chuckled sheepishly, "You really do exaggerate, huh?" she asked.

"He's not kidding," Prompto agreed, having a piece of the fish with a few potatoes. "The combination of your guys' cooking mind blowing!"

Curious, Lexus cut a piece of the fish and stabbed it with a few potatoes as Prompto did and took a big bite. The flavors of the batter exploded into her mouth, making it water as she chewed. The fish wasn't as she always expected, tasteless and bland. He added the right spices and herbs to make it flavorful! It was tender and near melted into her mouth. Chewing down on the potatoes, she was used to the taste but mixed with Ignis fish, totally made them even more tasty to eat than before. The combo of potatoes and fish was so good, Lexus couldn't help but moan at the flavor town she was experiencing.

"Food from the Gods…" She moaned, making some of them laugh at her reaction.

Ignis hid the heat shown on his face behind his mug of coffee. He was used to his friends praising his food from sunrise to sunset. Lexus made the feeling a whole lot different, like he wanted her to like it and continue to. Not to mention, seeing her truly happy with the dish- Just happy. It made him smile at the sight.

"I've been curious for a while," She spoke up, after they enjoyed their meal in a good moment of silence. "How do you guys summon your weapons?"

"It's the Power of the Kings." Ignis answered beside her, taking her empty plate to clean.

She instantly stood, "Wait, I'll do the dishes." she offered.

"Just let Ignis handle them, we can tell you about the whole weapon summoning thing." Prompto said, wanting her to just sit and relax.

She looked to Ignis, who nodded for her to sit and listen. Lexus did so, her focus onto the other three. "So, the Power of the Kings-"

Most of the explanation came from Gladio than Prompto, who piped in with an input how and then. Noctis explained in detail of what he knew, and how his friends can summon weapons like him. It involved the crystal, the same one used to make the shield over Insomnia, which Lexus understood.

"So, with the crystal and the Power of Kings, can anyone summon and dismiss weapons? Including fishing rods?" She asked, eyeing Noctis.

"Supplies as well." Ignis added, having finished cleaning up during the whole explanation. He sat back down next to her. "Potions, elixirs and the sort."

She nodded, leaning back in her seat. "Ajax taught me a bit about those, but not enough to know how to use them."

"Just let us worry about that." Gladio said, giving her a thumbs up. "If you get hurt by anything, we'll patch you right up."

"Which reminds me." Ignis spoke up, gaining their attention. "I've been thinking our funds, and it might be best to do requests to replenish what we've spent."

"You mean those posters we've been seeing at diners?" Noctis asked, looking up from his phone tiredly.

Ignis nodded, "Nothing a small hunt or two won't do." he suggested. He looked over toward Lexus as she stretched her arms over her head. "I have a bit more confidence we'll be fine after seeing your performance and your knowledge of the beasts out here."

She smiled his way, "Ah, so using my brain for your brawn?" she teased.

"We do it with Ignis all the time." Noctis joked back, earning a look from Specs.

Gladio stood, heaving a large yawn. "Getting late, better hit the sack."

Lexus frowned seeing two tents. "Wait, you guys are gonna cram yourselves into that tent?"

Ignis stood as Noctis was the first to go into said tent. "It's more spacious than it looks." He gave her a nod as the other two entered to sleep. "Rest well, Lexus. Call us if you need anything."

She nodded, and went over crawling into her own tent. Her bag of personal items sat in the corner waiting for her. Lexus got her phone using the flashlight to see, along with the tent she got a sleeping bag to nestle into, laying it out in the center. She was sure to be kicking and moving in her sleep as usual. With a sigh, she moved to sit on the cushions of her sleeping bag. Lexus removed her leather jacket and tossed it to the corner, snuggling into her sleeping bag as she looked through her phone.

Lexus turned the camera app on, and took a crappy selfie of her in the bag, her hair splayed about in a messy manner. With the photo taken, she went into messages and sent it to her Uncle's number. Sure, she knew no response would be made texting a dead man, but it somehow brought comfort. As if always telling him in her own way, how she was doing. She sent a text, telling her day and about the boys she was stuck with until they reached the ranch. Never did Lexus talk about how she felt about him sacrificing himself, sending her out on a lie of a letter. Just the good things, it didn't feel write to send her dark thoughts.

A yawn escaped her lips, turning her phone's alarm set to early morning and placing it by her head. Lexus tucked into the bag and turned to try and get better sleep than the last two nights gave her.

* * *

Third night so far, Lexus found herself awakened by the nightmarish memory again. How long would this be haunting her? Was just the mention of her father or parents a constant reminder of this to be in her dreams. She tossed and turned for a while before hearing the birds chirping outside her tent, indicating morning had already arrived. Soon her lack of proper sleep was going to get the best of her, even worse if she wanted to stay on her top game on the hunts Ignis mentioned.

Sleep wasn't coming back, and no point in trying if the day break had arrived. Sitting up, she unzipped herself from the sleeping bag and fixed herself up. Dressed in a fresh attire, and hair brushed as she pulled it into a tight ponytail. She felt the bangs fall around her face as she collected her phone and left the tent.

"-We can lure one in nice and close. It's foolproof!" She heard Prompto say. Lexus hadn't even heard them until she got out. The sun was out as she watched Prompto and Noctis make their leave from the camp.

"Mushroom picking takes a fun guy." She heard the blond say with his Princey friend following.

Noctis followed with much less enthusiasm. "So you're… Not even listening."

She slid her leather jacket on, walking to the edge as she saw the two boys jog around some trees. Folding her arms, her brain racket why they would need mushrooms. Something Prompto want to lure out and-

"Oh, he wouldn't." Then she thought back to how excited he was to take a photo of the Catoblepas. "...He would."

Lexus climbed down from the ledge and followed after as the two scattered about finding mushrooms. She was quiet and kept out of their sight, standing by trees and watching.

"Got enough?" Noctis asked.

Prompto nodded, grinning with his arms full of the fungi. "Dude, these mushrooms are the ticket to a photographing a close encounter of the Catoblepas kind!"

"More like a close encounter for a stomping." The boys turned, caught by a frowning Lexus. "Are you really that stupid for louring that beast just for a photo?"

Prompto walked up to her with a pleading gaze. "Come on, Lexus. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." She raised a brow, not convinced. "How about you come help- Let us know when to bail out when it gets too dangerous. You do know more about this than we do."

She just frowned, looking to need more convincing. After a silent moment, she groaned, dropping her arms to her side. "Fine, I'll help. But no photos of me, you hear?"

He grinned, saluting her. "Aye-aye, ma'am!"

Lexus followed the two to the edge of the lake, Prompto excitedly shoved the mushrooms into Noctis' arms who gave him a questioning look.

"Alright, so, I need you to stand right here with the mushrooms." He told, moving Noctis by the shoulders to position him closer to the water's edge. Noctis looked up from the shrooms in his arms at his friend. "You lure him in, and I shoot."

"You serious?" Noctis frowned at his friend.

"Of course." Prompto answered, a bit too quickly. "Should be easy, right?"

"Yeah, easy to get my ass killed!" He barked.

Lexus sighed, shrugging. "Could be worse."

"Worse? I'm essentially being bait!" Noctis argued.

Lexus waved her hands about. "Just use your warping power and run, combo of both, right?"

Noctis sent her a glare, what happened to her concern of getting stomped to death? Prompto looked at Lexus, "Ready?" she nodded looking tense beside him.

Noctis walker closer to the water's edge, placing the mushrooms down and turning to Prompto. Judging by the look of wonderment, the giant beast was making his way over. The Prince could hear the sloshing of water and the sound of it humming as it maneuvered over to him. He felt his shoulders grow tense, urging himself not to attack out of instinct. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he felt cold air blow onto his back. Noctis watched Lexus grip the back of Prompto's shirt, she looked concerned and terrified over the sight behind him.

"Alright, strike a pose!" Prompto raised his camera, steady as Lexus allowed him.

Not expecting the demand, he did a common whatever pose. Propping one hand onto his hip, and shifting his weight to is left, twisting his waist half way. In the corner of his head he found the humongous head hover above him, Lexus gasped at the sight as Prompto took the photo.

"RUN!" She barked, tugging at Prompto's jacket as hard as she could.

The two boys ran with her as fast as their feet would let them. The thudding of the beast's feet hitting ground echoed behind them, unknowing if it was following them.

"Behind the rock!" Prompto cried as the three dove for it, scrambling against it as if to shrink into it.

Lexus huddled between the two, all three pressing their backs against the boulder. Holding their breaths, they waited to hear the beast and his movements. The thuds of his stomps started to fade, a large moan echoed out. Lexus got to her feet, peeking over the large boulder, she sighed and signaled the two it was safe.

They heaved a sigh themselves, Noctis wiped the sweat from his forehead when he heard Prompto start to laugh, looking at the photo on his camera. "Hey, what are you laughing at? I could've died!" He barked, catching his breath.

Prompto rubbed the tip of his nose, calming his laughter. "But we got the perfect shot and had ourselves some crazy fun!" He reached up to nudge Lexus' leg. "Right, Lexus?"

The girl in between then was silent, they stood looking to her, her shoulders were hunched and trembling. Fearing she was traumatized by the ordeal, Prompto panicked. "A-Are you alright? It's okay, we're-"

"You idiots!" She barked and laughed, turning as she let out a howling laughter. Catching the two off guard as she hunched over, hugging her stomach. "My heart is pounding and we just- just _booked_ it!"

Her laughter made Prompto chuckle and join in. Noctis shook his head, laughing as softly with them. It was a scary moment, but looking it over they must have looked so stupid. Just running and screaming like idiots as the three dove behind a rock for no reason.

"Oh man, you-you should've seen your faces!" Prompto added, his cheeks hurting. "Wish I'd snapped that, too!"

The mental image made her laugh harder, the first time the boys saw her be so joyful, hearing her laugh for the first time. Prompto was so glad to bring that out of her- All it took was a photo of a giant beast.


	10. Chapter 10

The dynamic change in Lexus was gradually getting better for the group to know her. She made more quips with the puns the boys tended to make, sending teasing remarks and even smiled more. With Ignis' suggestion on hunting, the plan was going well. They mostly stuck around the land of Duscae slowly making their way to the Chocobo Ranch day by day. They hunted simple beats that Lexus taught the boys on their behavior, instinct, and even where they could be found. She wasn't as knee deep in battle as the others, mostly providing back up from a distance as she wasn't as quick as the four. Assuming they've had much longer years of training in battle than she ever did.

Lexus soon learned roles each one had when they fought for their hunting requests. Noctis led the battle, warping to the closest beat to do damage where Lexus explained the weakest parts were. Gladio was like a tank, dealing the heaviest damage to a point the largest beasts of herds or packs were knocked back or stunned. Prompto, like her, kept his distance with his marksmanship. Though she did catch him getting close to take a snapshot in the middle of battle. Gladio had to yank him out of the way of getting crushed by a collapsing Garula once. Ignis was the most fascinating to her, not only was he a close combat but also ranged as well! He had a polearm spear he stabbed and jab, using it to do acrobatics and parry attacks. Then he'd switch to daggers to throw and even had elemental touches such as ice or fire to them. Lexus almost found herself watching in amazement, thankful she was out of distance from battles to not worry about creatures attacking her. There were times once or twice he caught her staring, only for her to turn away and focus on firing her crossbow endlessly at a weakened down beast.

During their camping at nights, which Lexus was enjoying the most, she would help Ignis cook dinner. Dinner was chosen at moments to what they had to make, but one night, there was a vote between three dishes Ignis could make; Spicy Long-Bone Rib Steak, Dry-Aged Tender Roast Stew, or Classic Tomato & Egg Stir-Fry. Prompto and Gladio voted on the steak and Noctis voted on the stew. Despite seeing the steak win, they still asked for her vote. She laughed and voted for the stew with Noctis, causing a tie.

Ignis made the stir-fry in the end.

Early mornings in camp lead to Gladio discovering Lexus exercising, he invited her to jog in the early mornings. It was a good one on one bonding between the two. Gladio expressed how Noctis hates waking up early mornings, if just waking up at all and likes the idea of having an exercise buddy with him. They'd get back just in time for Ignis' breakfast, pack up, and move on.

Ignis and Prompto would teach Lexus about potions, elixirs, and others when they stopped to buy supplies. She learned how to use them, the percentage of health they help with and the injuries they heal. Ignis did warn to not over use them, the repercussions could be loss of energy, dizziness, or nausea. Even if they were to heal deep wounds, scars will occur as Gladio added. When asked about the scar on his features, he explained it was from a drunk who attacked Noctis one time.

Lexus was growing so comfortable around the boys, her true side was showing. She was sarcastic, caring, helpful, and made jokes with them. It didn't feel she was following the Prince and his posse, but more like actual real… Friends.

Though during her times alone in her tent or at a stop to rest and eat, she would take time to herself to send a message to Roland's number. She knew he was gone and out of her life, but this somehow brought comfort. As if he was assured she was alright in her own way. She'd send photos, stories, and even vent about small things. But it always ended with her saying 'I love you'.

* * *

"Another in the bag!" Prompto cheered, after taking care of a pack of rampaging Galura reaching too close to the road.

He gave Lexus a high five as she ran up to him. "Remember to show that sweet shot when you slid past that stomping bull."

Ignis shook his hands to release the tension of the grip he held with his daggers. "More focus on the battle, less on your photos, Prompto." He scolded.

"Aww, but I gotta give what the lady wants!" He whined back, holding up his camera. Lexus giggled as she leaned over Prompto's shoulder, trying to get a look at the photos on the camera.

"We're done hunting, can we turn it in already?" Noctis asked, stretching his arms sounding tired.

Lexus looked over to her, her arms over Prompto's shoulders as she searched through his photo collection pressing up against his back. Her eyes shifted to the Prince. "Didn't sleep well?"

He nodded, rubbing his neck. "One can only sleep in a cramped tent for so long."

Lexus hummed, then she got off Prompto and smiled at the Prince. "I'll treat you guys to a better stay, how about that? No camping."

Noctis stepped back, not expecting her sudden pounce toward him. The others looked surprised by her offer, she smiled back at them as well. "There's no need for you to pay for our accommodation, Lexus."

She gave a huge grin, baring her pearly whites. "It's the least I can do, y'know? Besides, a lady needs a proper bed too."

"Can't argue with that!" Prompto agreed, putting his camera away.

Noctis raised a hand up, "I second the motion." he said.

Gladio chuckled, hands on his hips. "Guess we're outnumbered."

Ignis sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Very well."

Lexus and Prompto cheered as they made their way across the grass plains where they parked the car. Noctis looked forward to a proper bed.

"Noct! Overhead!" Barked Gladio.

The three turned, the sudden break of the silent nature was caused by a terrifying Imperial ship hovering toward them. Lexus stepped back, looking up at it in fear as the four men glared. "Prompto!" Yelled Ignis, the wind gusting up from the ship making it hard to hear. "Get Lexus to a safe place!"

"Got it!" The blond turned and guided the stunned girl toward a nearby collection of trees, crouching down with her behind a large boulder.

"Prompto?" She saw the other three summon their weapons as the bay doors opened from the ship.

"Don't worry, they got this." he gave her a thumbs up. "I'll keep ya safe."

She nodded, focusing back as the soldiers jumped down from the high ship. About twenty- maybe more- landed down and the three men rained hell onto them. Noctis was the first to attack, wrapping all around and slicing his way through. Gladio's strong force and heavy sword shook the soldiers and wavered their stances. Ignis gave finishing blows, cutting them down as he threw his daggers. He teamed with Ignis after calling him, he held his daggers tightly, and the two warped at the last one, cross slicing the soldier. It faltered and finally collapsed and faded along with the rest. Waiting a moment for any more, the coast was clear when Noctis waved them over.

"Way to go guys!" Prompto praised them as he led Lexus back to them.

Gladio looked as stressed as Ignis over the battle. "Hadn't thought of those ships finding us out here."

"Guess we do stick out." Prompto rubbed his neck, not expecting the attack himself.

Lexus looked up at the skies, she never would've thought that herself. Now she felt herself having to look over her head anytime they were out in the open.

"You okay, Lexus?" She felt a hand on her shoulder, seeing Prompto leaning over at her in concern.

She smiled, nodding. "Just never thought that would happen here." She said, eyes searching the skies again.

"Best we move on," Ignis suggested. "Hand in the hunt and continue our way to the ranch."

Oh, right. They had been spending days wandering around Duscue's marsh open lands, she had forgotten why she was with them in the first place. But, the ranch might be a bit of a safe haven for them.

"Right!" Prompto got hyped up, trying to lighten the mood. "Get to see those sweet cute Chocobos." Noctis and Gladio took the proper lead back toward where the car was parked. "You said your dad used to race Chocobos, right?"

This subject once more? Lexus nodded, "Yeah, he did." she answered nonetheless.

"Did you ever race them?" He asked, walking beside her.

Lexus raised her brows, "I know how to ride them, but I never stayed with my parents long enough to race them." she explained.

"Oh, right." He sheepishly scratched his freckled cheek. "But, you can teach us to ride them, right?"

She smiled, "Of course! I'll have to ease myself back since I was just a little kid last I rode a Chocobo." she told him. "But once you ride one, you never forget."

Prompto was extremely eager to get to the ranch now. He hummed a little tune to himself, hearing him sing "I like to ride my Chocobo, all day!" to himself. Lexus kept her smile, though she felt the pit of her stomach sink seeing her trip with the boys ending soon.

* * *

At their small pit stop to restock on things, Lexus hung outside to tune her bike up and refill the gas. She had gotten some grease on her hands and when wiping sweat off her face, got some smudged onto her cheeks. Ignis left the store first, as Gladio said he'd fit the bill. He noticed the pine haired girl's hands were nearly completely black as she pierced her bike back together and cleaned it off her precious bike. Yet, didn't seem too bothered by her hands as she stood and swiped her sweat away… Causing more smudge on her face than she already had.

He cleared his throat as he approached her, gaining her attention. "Hey, everything packed?" She asked.

"Almost," Ignis said, nodding. "Gladio's taking care of payment."

He nearly searched into his cranium to find something else to say. The sight of the smudge made his brows raise, never had he seen such a girl who never minded some grease. Well, there was Cindy but Lexus clearly had her beat with all the black on her cheeks, chin, and forehead. He was surprised none got into her hair- he took that back, he saw some fringes on her right cheek stained.

Out of instinct with taking care of someone nearly all his life, he reached into his inner breast pocket to produce a handkerchief, but when he looked up she had one at the ready to clean her face. Silently, he pocketed his, seeing the familiar cloth in her hands as it got dirtied carelessly.

"I might have to just wash up." She laughed, seeing the cloth go from cream egg to black and brown. The laugh felt airy and awkward, clearly not wanting to talk to him or be here.

The cloth was balled up in her hands, he held his hand out. "I can wash that for you, if-"

"I can wash it, be right back." Lexus rushed off to the dinner in hopes of finding a bathroom.

Ignis gave a subconscious sigh, crossing his arms as he watched her toggle off.

"Lady trouble?" Came the deep amused tone of Gladio. He glanced up as the brawn man walked over to place the bag of curatives into the back of the car. "Want some advice? Don't be awkward."

Ignis gave him an incredulous look at his words. "Pardon?"

Gladio chuckled, leaning against the side of the Regalia and crossed his arms. "Out of the four of us talking to her, you struggle the most. Hell, even Noct and her talk more."

"You're point?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"Look," He shook his head. "I know there's some rift between you two from those years ago. Prompto met her once and they are inseparable, as if they knew each other for years."

"In a way, they have." Ignis indicated. "Just haven't been in contact."

"And what's your excuse?" Gladio gave him a knowing look

The guard was the best when it came to social interactions and people. He could talk to a stranger and make the conversation as easy as talking to a long time friend. Explained why Lexus grew comfortable to them, along with Prompto's boisterous positive attitude. Ignis remembered Lexus hate towards Noctis back when they were children, something she must have grown out of, once she met and knew who he was she saw how wrong. So why out the group did he struggle the most, when he knew her more and longer?

"Better?" The two turned to see Lexus, grinning with a clean face. The cloth was nowhere to be found, assumed to be cleaned and pocketed.

"Ignis?" Lexus called

Not realizing he was back in his thoughts a second time. He composed himself, adjusting his glasses. "Much, not that you weren't before."

Gladio had to resist pressing his palm to his forehead hearing that. Lexus chuckled, "I mean, I did have grease all over my face. Unless, you prefer that?"

A cough of a laugh was heard from Gladio, not helping Ignis. "That's not what I meant." He tried to correct his words

"I get it." She nodded with a smile, trotting towards the store to greet the other two.

Ignis gave Gladio a certain look, the look that said to silence himself before making any comment. Never had Gladio seen him so out of his element. He was the advisor of the prince, and he couldn't have a small conversation with this one person? Amazing.

"So, what's the plan?" Prompto asked as he left the store with Noctis and Lexus.

Noctis held a bounty poster, which Ignis was not pleased to see. "According to this, these can be found in the daytime and they're only… West of here?" He looked to Lexus for directional help.

Lexus nodded, "Yup, near the mountain ridge. Close enough that we can just walk. This will be exciting!" she cheered giving Prompto a high five.

"What, pray tell, will be exciting?" Ignis asked, crossing his arms.

Noctis turned the paper showing a bird creature with lizard-like characteristics on the bounty poster. Ignis took it and read the details, including location and reward. "Cockatrice, reward is 5,880 Gil. Can be found in the Rydielle Ley area."

"What's a cockatrice?" Gladio asked.

Prompto chimed in, "It looks like a chicken, but what's with that tail? Like a giant lizard."

Lexus smiled, "Pretty much, Cockatrice counts as a bird despite some reptile features to it." she tapped her forehead to try and remember what she learned of this creature. "What was it Ajax said?"

"Do we really have time to do another hunt? We should be going to the ranch." Ignis said, folding the poster and handing it to Noctis. "Weren't you tired after ending the last one?" He questioned the Prince.

"Well, once Lexus told us about this, how could I resist?" He explained, to the best he could.

"Why not one last hunt with Lexus?" Prompto urged, giving a biggest grin with excitement. "I'm totally on board!"

"Plus, it's only a few minutes walk from here." Lexus added, looking to Ignis. "I thought we'd take care of this, split the Gil, then we stay at the camper back here on my treat."

Noctis frowned, "I was hoping for a hotel room, honestly." he told her.

"If we weren't going to do this hunt, we'd have time to drive to the nearest one Which is all the way back in Leide." She told him. "Either we see this awesome bird lizard, or spend the rest of the evening driving all the way back there."

"Or we could just stay at the camper and not hunt." Ignis suggested, earning childish frowns from Noctis and Prompto. "Then leave for the ranch in the morning."

Lexus raised her hands, not wanting to start an argument. "I'm not saying you guys have to. This hunt can be picked up another time." She shrugged.

It seemed the three really wanted to see this Cockatrice creature. Ignis thought on the pros and cons of this conjecture.

Con: Waste another day getting to the ranch, having to drive all day tomorrow- Well, was that a real bad thing? He did prefer driving than Noctis.

Maybe weigh the pros first.

Pro: It was within walking distance, only have to take down three, Lexus knows about these creatures, and gets a good amount of pay.

So far there weren't any problems allowing this one little hunt for them to go on.

Ignis placed his hands on his slender hips, raising his head and lowering it to heave a sigh. "Shall we start our walk?"

Prompto and Lexus cheered, as she took lead with him and Noctis. Ignis and Gladio followed as they walked off the lot, a little bit up the road and then Lexus jumped the railing. The men jumped as well with better finesse than she did, as they led them toward Rydielle Ley.

As they walked, the sun was close to setting, putting Ignis on edge. He forgot the time it might take to get there, and how long it might take to kill the Cockatrice, then the travel back. At night, the Daemons tend to emerge. His eyes scanned the sky in any search of Imperial ships that might spot them as they traveled. The days with Lexus were becoming more dangerous with her, as they pushed their luck. She could get captured for being with them by the Imperials or killed by the Daemons that lurked the night. Judging by her reaction today, first hand on fighting against them, she was truly spooked. She was looking at the sky more as they returned and even now, glancing at her, she stole peeks up above her. Lexus clearly didn't want to separate from them, but for her, they would have to leave her at the ranch where she'd be safe. It was asked by her Uncle and they felt they must honor that request. Whether she wanted them to or not.

Thankfully they never ran into any other beasts or Imperials and the walk wasn't long at all. Lexus called for them to crouch by some trees as the… giant chicken like creatures were spotting near some fencing. If looking from a certain angle, their long large green scaled tail would be hidden by the beautiful tail feathers draping over it. The crests on their head were jagged and large, proving its status of being of the male verity. If had to be guessed, some roving males that wandered too far off from their natural habitat of the Vesperpool.

"Woah…" Gasped Prompto, who swallowed loudly. "They're twice as large as I thought they'd be!"

Gladio hummed in agreement. "I wasn't expecting them to be as big as our last hunt." He mused, rubbing the hair on his jaw.

Lexus gave a sigh, nodding. "I honestly had no idea their size either."

Well, that was assuring, thought Ignis. "Any special traits or sort of features we should know about them?" He asked her.

Lexus turned to them, nodding. "They got these long sharp claws like talons on their wings, and could do some serious damage. And their tails, definitely watch out for those. Possibly slam you into the next region with their strength." She explained, shifting to get a better look at them. Lexus was still amazed to be seeing the real thing, she turned back to them.

"Prompto, I hate to ask, but mind taking a good few snaps of them? Not Everyday we get to see the real deal Cockatrice." She asked, feeling guilty of doing so.

Prompto gave a thumbs up. "Count on me, Lexus!"

"Got a plan, Specs?" Noctis asked, seeing the calculated look on the advisor.

Ignis went over a plan to aim for their frontal or legs to knock it and stun it. Attack the underbelly, which he considered their weak spot.

Noctis made the first move warping at the farthest Cockatrice and slamming his sword into its chest and trying to knock it off balance. Gladio built up speed to put his swing toward the left one, succeeding in knocking it down. Prompto, all pumped up, waiting for Noctis' move to attack. Once the Prince threw a broadsword up and warped into the air, Prompto ran right in with rapid gun fire beneath him as Noctis slammed down onto the creature. That left Ignis and Lexus to handle the third one. With her crossbow, she aimed and fired from her position as Ignis summoned his polearm. Once the third Cockatrice realized it was being shot at, it ran at them. That gave Ignis the initiative to surprise attack by piercing its chest. It let out a screech, flapping its wings wildly. The idea for these two was to keep distance, so Lexus kept herself more than 15 feet from it while Ignis kept a 7 foot distance once he summoned his daggers. That distance got close as he aimed and threw them rapidly at its feet.

All was going well, Noctis and Prompto almost finished off the first one, giving Prompto the idea it was safe enough to get a snapshot. He got his camera and did a belly slide to the side to get good angles of his face. The creature didn't seem fond of the flashes, as it let out a gurgle and then spewed green sticky substance at Prompto. He cried out in disgusts, jumping back, but fell to his knees.

"I don't… Feel good." He muttered, looking green in the gills. Noctis finished it off and ran over to aid him.

"Prompto's poisoned!" He called out, gaining the others' attention.

Lexus gaped, "Poison!?" she cried. She had no clue they could poison enemies! "Do we have antidotes!?"

"Only so many!" Noctis informed, using his on Prompto. His color returned and he stood with Noctis' help. He thanked him, getting his nerves together shaking the sick feeling off. "We gotta be careful!"

"I thought we restocked on everything!" Gladio called, making distance between himself and his enemy.

"They're in the car!" Noctis reminded, making the guard groan remembering. "The vehicle we decided to leave behind!"

Now things had changed, Lexus never read anything on them able to spew toxins. And with their limited antidotes, they had to be twice as careful. She felt at fault for this, not realizing they'd need the restocked curatives they had just bought that was stocked in the trunk of the Regalia.

Sadly, this gave the remaining two Cockatrice the advantage. So far, Prompto got poisoned two more times, Gladio once, and Noctis three times, and Ignis twice. That left them with one more antidote, and it was becoming more risky as the battle continued. The sun was setting, the day was wearing down, and so was the last Cockatrice. Lexus was keeping an eye on it, seeing when it showed signs of spewing or not. She noticed it would bob its head and make a gurgling sound in its throat ready to vomit.

"Almost at the home stretch!" Called Gladio as it got to its feet for the third time. "It's keeping its head up!"

Ignis just about avoided a tail whip, doing a back-flip perfectly. It nearly distracted Lexus who looked back hearing the grotesque gurgling. "Get back!"

"I'll finish this!" Noctis barked, taking a few steps by. "Ignis!"

Ignis stood by with Gladio and Prompto now out of the Cockatrice's projectile toxin. The advisor tossed his polearm to the Prince just as he wrapped up, in the air he slammed down into the Cockatrice, he screeched out, raising its head up in pain. Before giving into its death, the creature spewed its toxins into the air, nearly making it rain.

"Noct!" Ignis barked, about to run out and get him out of the danger of the poison.

Shockingly, Lexus was the first to sprint at the Prince. "Lexus!" Prompto cried as she went full speed at Noctis.

The pine haired girl grabbed Noctis' arm and nearly yanked his socket out as she dragged him out of the fall of the poison as it fell to the grass sizzling the blades and ground from the impact. She stumbled as the creature fell with a heavy thud, the two tumbling to the ground together near knotting their limbs about. Noctis groaned as he felt Lexus' legs tangled in his, sitting up to free himself. He sighed, seeing the battle finally over and hearing Prompto's cheers.

"You alright Lex-" He turned to see if she hurt herself in the tumble, but hearing her whimpers and green color of her cheeks said something else. He may have avoided the poison but she took the dive for him. "Hey, Ignis!"

The three ran over, seeing the sickly color of Lexus, her sickly ill color rivaling with her hair. "Lexus!" Prompto knelt down, pressing a hand to her back as she tried to get to hands and knees. She took deep breaths to keep from vomiting from the poison's effects.

"Quick, antidote!" Noctis barked, Ignis fished one out and knelt beside Prompto.

He crushed the curative and allowed the sparkles of blue and teal fade into her, letting her take even breaths. Her ill feeling faded away and the color returned to her cheeks. She sighed and sat up, leaning back to fall onto the wet grass on her behind.

"That really sucked. Sorry for using your last one on me." She apologized, wincing as she looked up at them.

Noctis shook his head, getting to his feet. "Didn't have to be so dramatic, yknow?" He chuckled, offering a hand to her.

She gladly took it, standing straight with a shrug. She adjusted her clothing, ignoring the wetness from the ground staining her pants and jacket. "My feet just moved on their own."

The Prince nodded, moving his hand to clasp it like he did many times with Gladio and Prompto. Lexus looked at him questioningly, he smiled at her. "Thanks."

She almost felt a swell of honor grow in her chest. She took a breath and smiled, squeezing his hand. For all these years she held hate and resentment towards this boy, never knowing who he truly was or what he was like. He saw her as a friend and equal person, not as some subject or peasant below him. Now, she threw all that negative feeling away as she gripped his hand.

Despite the long battle, the group managed to return to the rest stop by the time night had fallen. All were exhausted and didn't even care if they got a hotel or not. Lexus fully paid for the caravan and relaxation began for the five. Showers were taken, dinner was made, and the night ended with them all tanking out in their respective beds. It felt a bit out of place for some of the boys, as they would be sharing a sleeping location with Lexus. The caravan held four beds in the back with the eating nook turned into a foldable bed. Lexus gladly took it to have personal space from the boys, also telling them not to worry about using the kitchen or bathroom. She could sleep through anything.

Everything was fine through the night, though Lexus stayed up a little later despite her body feeling exhausted. The side effect of the antidote was stronger as it was her first time using it, all she wanted to do was just sleep. Before she could though, Lexus wanted to send Roland a text of her day. She told about the amazing hunts they did, how she pretty much made a risky move to get poisoned -assuring she was alright in the end- and how she was wrong about Noctis. Now they were friends, she almost smiled; She was friends with Prince Noctis!

Lexus was sure her mother would be giddy with joy to learn that tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she'd be back at the ranch, with her mother and father, a surprise visit for them no doubt. Her smiles started to fade, her phone lowering in her hand as she looked out the window of the caravan. Her time with the boys would end- But, what if they didn't? She had become such good friends. Her hope rose, maybe they'd ask them to have her join them. Lexus helped them fight these beasts, get the hunts to gain Gil, and taught them about the land. Maybe she was… somewhat useful for them?

Lexus got up to plug her phone into the charger at the kitchen counter, and flopped onto the bed hugging the pillow. She fell asleep with a smile on her face that night.

* * *

Prompto watched Lexus zoom about on the road as they followed her to the ranch. She at times swerved left and right and glanced back to make sure they were still there. He had his arms folded on the door, cheek resting against his wrists as he watched her. He held no smile, not as excited for their trip as much as he had expressed that morning. They'd be seeing the Chocobos he was pumped for, sure. But they'd also be dropping her off while they continue their own adventure. Sure, this was very dangerous for her, seeing her not used to their curatives, unable to defend against the Imperials, and the fact they'll be needing to leave Lucis. They had a duty to attend to Prince Noctis on reaching Lunafreya. It was selfish to want to have her join them, he tried to rid the thought of rubbing his forehead against the bands on his wrists.

"Feeling alright, Prompto?" Noctis asked, leaning forward over the seat. "You seem down."

"Yeah." He sighed with a puff of his chest.

Noctis and Gladio looked to one another, Ignis glanced over switching hands on the wheel as he drove. He stole a quick glance before focusing back on the road, seeing the blond's eyes glued to the biker in front of them. He was clearly upset about Lexus leaving, possibly never seeing her again.

Suddenly Ignis slammed the brakes when he saw Lexus stop her bike skidding the road. Everyone launched forward, Prompto almost kissing the dashboard. "What's wrong?" Gladio asked, as he held the seat in front of him.

"Imperials above us!" Prompto cried, standing and pointing up at the sky.

Of course, they couldn't find safety on the road, as the giant ship hovered over them, humming. Lexus got off her bike and took her crossbow off the back. The boys all hopped out of the car, summon their weapons. Ignis ran straight over to Lexus as the humming grew louder above them.

"Lexus, stay by the car." he called, her helmet still on not knowing if she could hear him.

She lifted the visor, he was met with a stare. "No, I'm standing by fighting."

Ignis couldn't believe what he just heard. "It's too dangerous!" He argued, pointing at the car with his dagger in his hand. "Go hide by the Regalia."

The stare formed into a narrow glare. "I can defend myself fine!"

Before the argument could continue, the soldiers dropped down, landing right in front of them. Ignis shoved Lexus behind him, raising his daggers awaiting for an attack. He barked at her to hide once more, it seemed to work as she shuffled towards the car. Seemed fear overwhelmed her judgement of pride to kneeling behind the Regalia. Satisfied she complied, he dove into battle with his friends.

Lexus growled in frustration, looking at her gloved hand to find it trembling. What was she thinking? Fighting an army, and the Imperials? What could she do to even give their metal a scratch? Fighting beasts out in the field were not the same as-

Why was metal creaking near her?

Lexus looked up, frozen in her spot to find a soldier had wandered off and found her behind the car. Its red eyes beneath the helmet narrowed down at her, it raised his arm with the axe in its hand. Lexus let out a scream and scrambled away just as the axe swung down. It clanked onto the pavement. She turned back, getting to her feet, gripping her crossbow tightly. The soldier meandered toward her, giving her time to set her crossbow up and aim. Despite it being shaky, she fired and it stumbled back, the bolt impeded into the exposed area between the chest and shoulder plate.

She blinked in shock, had she really just hurt it? Lexus felt her pride return, and pointed at it triumphantly. "How's that feel?!"

Despite the bolt in its shoulder, the soldier didn't seem bothered as it raised his weapon and charged at Lexus. She grit her teeth, raising her crossbow to block the attack, the axe threatening to slice her weapon in half. To prevent that, her eyes scanned the soldier for any weakness. Seeing the bolt lodge itself into the infantryman didn't seem to slow it down at all. So, if she went for a more sensitive area- The neck!

Lexus raised her leg and kicked at its chest, giving herself distance from the lock their weapons had. She held her crossbow and charged at the soldier, just as it swung its axe. She blocked it with her crossbow, using her right hand to detach the mini handheld crossbow and pressed it right under the chin against the throat of the soldier.

"Eat this!" She cried, pulling the trigger.

The small but sharp bolt shot into the neck, it was stunned enough for her to whip her main crossbow and crack against its head before jumping back.

"Take that, bitch!" She grinned, but it fell immediately when she saw it was still standing. "What? But… How?" A shot to the neck should've been an instant death or enough to stop anything. Why wasn't it phased at all?

"Lexus! Look out!"

The cry may as well have been on deaf ears. Lexus turned, feeling the only danger she hadn't expected was behind her. A black whip wrapped around her, the sharp spikes felt like thousands of needles puncturing her skin as it entrapped her arms to her side. The pain caused her to cry out and fall to her knees, her weapons dropping to the pavement before her. The smallest movement made the spikes tear at her skin, sinking deeper into her flesh as it ripped her leather jacket to shreds.

With all her training, with two years learning self defense and combat, nothing would've prepared her for this. Her weapons out of reach, fighting the Imperials, tangled into the mess of the Prince to her lost nation.

Lexus wished she knew what was going to happen next, all she saw was a blur of rapid fires at the soldier who snared her until he fell to the ground. To appease the pain, she fell to her side as the whip was yanked, but screamed when landing on her side caused the spikes to dig completely into her arm. She felt warmth involved the arm, she was sure it was blood seeping out of the gashing wound. Lexus focused her attention on the other soldier she had tried to take down, when a polearm that belonged to Ignis was thrown and stabbed right into its middle. It cried as if its insides were being torn apart, metal screeching against one another. Lexus winced as it fell to its death right in front of her, fading away with the first one.

She closed her eyes, hearing her name called and footfalls rushing toward her. Hands gripped her shoulder to sit her arm, as another pair reached for the whip. Lexus let out a cry of pain, hunching over in an attempt to appease the pressure.

"Sorry!" Cried Prompto, who must have tried to free her. "Sorry, Lexus!"

Lexus shook her head, refusing to open her eyes. "They cut you up good." She heard Gladio behind her, recognizing the large hands on her shoulders. "We need to get this off."

"Let's cut them." Noctis suggested somewhere to her left.

The pavement felt hot as she sat there, hearing shoes scraping against the surface around her. A small tug made her whimper, earning a soft shush. Not a rude one, but a gentle one to her right. It took a minute or two, but the binds were cut from her and gently removed from her body. She released a shaky sigh and opened her eyes just as tears poured out from the corners and fell down her cheeks. With the weapon off, she felt hands rub her back comfortably. Her tear filled eyes stared down at the dark cement, seeing shoes and hands come in and out of her sight. They helped take her jacket off to inspect the damage, cars driving by without a care were heard now and again. The men hissed at the damage, making more tears escape. She was angry, hurt, scared, shameful, and felt extremely stupid.

A hand gently took her chin and raised her hand, her eyes were met with Prompto's blue ones. He was smiling gently, though worry and concern shined into his blue eyes. "It's alright, we're gonna fix you up." He assured her. "Can you move?"

She at first wanted to shake her head, not wanting to move from her spot. But sitting on the hot pavement was burning her legs and body ached for relief of her tense back and shoulders. With a deep intake of air, Lexus nodded ready to stand. Prompto and Noctis assisted her, helping her to the Regalia to sit in the passenger seat. She took even breaths wanting to calm down, her eyes constantly producing tears that blurred her vision. The soothing words of Prompto and his comforting touches only made her more upset than better as Ignis went to treat her wounds. The potions made her exhausted as she felt the skin stitch themselves together from the cuts. Her arms were sore and stinging, her one arm hurt worse from landing on it when she fell. Lexus found herself leaning to the side, Prompto welcomed her to lean against her so she didn't fall out of the open door of the car. Exhaustion between her physically and emotionally caught up, she soon fell asleep hearing their voices fade out with her consciousness.

* * *

Lexus was seated comfortably in the back with Prompto as her pillow. Her head resting against his shoulder sitting with Ignis beside him. Noctis took to driving as Ignis would be checking on her vitals during the ride, Gladio sat up front. Never were these seats changed like this, but it had to be done. A call was made to Cindy if she could pick Lexus' bike up and drop it off at the ranch. She said it would take a day or two, but the job can be done. She sent her get wells to Lexus and to see her soon. Her weapons were put into the trunk, noting the damage to them during her attempt of defending herself.

The ride was silent, only the humming of the engine, nature around them, cars zooming by filled their ears. No one knew if they should or could say anything. Lexus would be fine, but her reaction to the whole incident is what caught their attention. But this was the solid thought for all of them.

They had to leave Lexus at the ranch.


	11. Chapter 11

The black feather twirled and twisted in his fingertips, green eyes staring at it as Ignis was deeply lost in his thoughts on the day. Bugs hummed and buzzed around the lit camp ground as he sat outside the camper of the Wiz Chocobo Ranch. They arrived after dark, and had no choice but to rent out the camper for them to sleep and Lexus to recover. No Chocobos were seen, assumed to be put in for the night. The rumbling threats of a storm were heard in the distance, even then Ignis' eyes didn't leave the black feather in his fingers.

"Just checked her wounds, they're healing well. She should be awake by morning." Gladio informed, leaving the camper.

He found his friend engulfed by the feather, a look of shame behind his glasses. He knew Ignis had heard him, just clearly wanted to be alone or was thinking too far to respond. Gladio turned, taking a step into the camper.

"We should leave tonight." Ignis said, pausing the guard from his leave.

"What?" Gladio stepped back down, frowning at the advisor. "Leave now- Right now?"

Ignis nodded, taking a breath and gently pocketing the feather into the breast pocket of his blazer. "Leave a note, make our leave without fuss." He stood and walked over to Gladio.

Gladio shook his head, "We should at least make sure she's alright tomorrow morning. Tell her family about Roland." He stared his friend down, who refused to look even when his gaze changed to the dirt below his shoes. "What are you scared of?"

Ignis wouldn't usually admit to fear or the notion of being scared. But, it was only Gladio and the man could get people to talk without judgement- Unless it was Noctis. But the real question not only caught Gladio's worry, but also Ignis.

"I don't know." He answered. Ignis leaned his back against the caravan and looked up at the dark sky. "Informing her parents of Roland's fate, leaving things unresolved between Lexus and I-"

"So, you're running away." Gladio accused, earning a scowl from Ignis. It died with a sigh, "Never figured you do that." Gladio added.

"Figured what?" The two looked to see Prompto's head leaning out the window to the back room. How much had he heard?

Ignis shook his head. Gladio stepped over, hands on his hips. "Nothing, how's Lexus?"

Prompto shrugged, "She's breathing easier than when she was in the car. But, she ain't sweating a fever or anything." he assured.

"I suggest we sleep for the night, then." Ignis chimed in, stepping into the caravan to end his involvement in the conversation.

Prompto frowned, Gladio looked up. "If you need to sleep-"

The blond quickly shook his head. "No, no. I rather keep an eye on Lexus. In case she wakes up or needs anything."

Gladio understood, stretching his arms over his head to indicate sleep was needed for the guard. "Don't worry about what Iggy said." He told, walking over to the door.

And worry he did. Prompto sat on the opposite side of the bed Lexus slept on, curled up into the pillow sleeping soundly. He smiled at her back, seeing her green hair spread about onto the pillow and sheets, the blanket covering up to her waist. He stood and hunched over, checking her forehead to feel her temperature was still normal and fixed the blanket a bit higher. This all brought back his childhood memories of taking care of Lunafreya's dog, when he was a much bigger child. Not that he was comparing Lexus to a dog, just the feeling of tending to someone he cared about.

He sat back on his bed and looked out the window, his thoughts traversing to the Chocobos he'll meet tomorrow, including Lexus' parents. It was a shame he never got to meet her Uncle Roland, sounding like he was a cool and badass guy. But, Prompto was glad she still had her parents and they were safe. Then, his thoughts brought the mood back down, remembering that the news of Roland's death had to be announced to her parents. From what Lexus said, Roland was her mother's older brother. So the news would hit her harder, and seeing a woman cry broke his heart. Hell, seeing the pain Lexus endured that day still ached his chest, making his take a few breaths to ease himself.

Lexus was alright, she was healing and she was safe.

And she was home.

* * *

The sound of rain falling to patter against the window and roofing of the caravan made the pine haired girl crack her eyelids. She felt the darkness in the space despite the voices heard outside to indicate it was day time. Rainy cloudy day, voices, and a semi-comfy bed to wake up from. The smell of food being cooked and the distant sizzling of a pan was heard, Lexus sat up slowly to feel the kinks in her arms and back. Her lungs took in a large amount of air and sighed loudly, causing an effect of her unknown roommate to jolt from the bed across and flop to the floor with a thud. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Prompto scrambling to escape the entrapment of the blanket wrapped around him. The sight made her smile, and soon she laughed when he started yelling about monsters.

"Prompto! You're okay!" She assured between her laughter.

Soon he was awake enough to see he was in no danger and his friend was awake and smiling down at him. He smiled, grumbling as he removed himself from the damned blanket and stood with wild bed head.

"Lexus!" He exclaimed, fixing his dark shirt that was skewed. "How're feeling?"

Lexus let her smile soften, looking down to remember how they got to the caravan. "Fine, just full of shame." She admitted, her eyes traveling down her arms to find any marks. Just small wrappings where the damage was worse on her arm. Despite that, she only felt sore.

"Shame?" He questioned, bundling up his blanket and tossing it onto his bed without care.

Lexus pulled the blanket off and rested her feet onto the cheap carpet floor. "I caused a lot of trouble, thinking I can handle that soldier." She frowned, her eyes glued to the floor. "Those… Things; They're not human."

Prompto shifted his stance, taking a chance to sit beside her with some personal space between them. "Scary, huh?"

She nodded, "I shot an arrow right into one's neck. It just kept coming at me like it was nothing." Lexus combed her tangled hair from her face. Having her own bed head as she felt knots built into her strands.

Prompto knotted his hands, looking at them for a moment then to her. "You got caught up, no one blames you." He assured her.

She looked up, her hand keeping her hair out of her face. "They're not… Y'know, mad at me getting involved?"

He scoffed dramatically, leaning back with his hand on the bed. "As if! We were all just worried when you got hurt like that. You're-"

"Not as strong and brave as you guys?" She asked, a ghost of a teasing smile shown.

Prompto scratched his cheek, feeling sheepish to even be considered those things. "Making me blush, honestly." He chuckled, earning a nudge from her.

"By the way, did you watch me sleep?" She wiggled her brows to earn a redder face onto the blond. It was cute when it made his freckles more visible as they danced across his nose and cheeks. He stammered, shaking his head.

Lexus laughed and nodded. "Thanks for keeping me company through the night. I'll be more careful from now on." She stood, stretching her arms over her head with a groan. "Now, what's that _amazing_ smell that _amazing_ cook is making?"

Prompto regained his composure, and sniffed the air, smelling the food being cooked as well. "I'll go check- Also let them know you're okay."

Lexus nodded, "Good, I can freshen up for the journey." she told as he shut the door.

Journey, that's right. Did she think they were at the station? Instead of correcting her, she walked over to the advisor as he was frying eggs and bacon in the small narrow kitchen. Noctis was curled up in the foldout bed and Gladio was nowhere to be found. Seeing as it was past sunrise, he guessed he went out to scout the area.

"Well, she's awake and doing great." He informed, earning a glance from Ignis. "She feels bad about getting hurt, though."

Ignis hummed at his words, "Well, I don't think any of us are cross about it." he told him. "What happened, happened."

Ignis made a plate for Prompto and soon Lexus emerged looking refreshed and her hair up in a bun. Prompto stuffed his face, sitting on the steps of the caravan as she approached.

"...Good morning, Ignis." She greeted.

"Morning, Lexus." He greeted back, flipping the bacon of the second batch. "How are you feeling?"

Hearing no annoyance or hostility, she took in Prompto's assurance to heart. "Good, my arm's sore but I can ignore it."

"That's good." He nodded, plating the eggs and bacon, and offering the dish to her. "Eat up."

Ending that conversation, she thanked him and sat beside Prompto for them both to savor and enjoy the breakfast. Eventually Noctis woke up, asking for the meal too. Soon everyone was fed and Lexus offered to clean the dishes. Eventually, the door opened and Gladio joined them. He was relieved to see Lexus up and moving, looking pretty okay.

"Good, we can start the day." He told, stepping back outside into the mud.

The three shuffled out and soon Lexus followed, her boots squished into the mud as she took in her surroundings. This wasn't the parking lot, this wasn't a post stop, nor did she even see the main road inside. She saw woods, signs of yellow and the smell of mud and pine.

Wiz' Chocobo Post.

The four let her take in her views, seeing as she hadn't been there in over ten years. The large sign had ages and the colors were dulled, yet cars were parked to show they got guests and customers alike. The scent of the trees, rain, dirt, and just nature around them caused memories to flood right through her mind. She walked around, different spots made her think of each memory;

The posts where Chocobos were held for visitors to pet and feed, now were bare of their birds.

The baby chicks that wandered the grounds of free range were nowhere in sight.

The small stores sold their wares, souvenirs, and trinkets to visitors, yet not a single green to feed the birds were seen.

Where were the Chocobos?

"Do my eyes deceive me?"

The group's attention was turned to an older man, his accent much like Cindy's. Short gray beard and dressed like a true Chocobo farmer with a yellow scarf loosely around his neck and hung off his shoulders.

"That _is_ you- Lexus Quintin!"

Her eyes watered at the sight of the man who was like a grandfather to her. The man who trained her father in racing Chocobos and rescued so many of the precious birds.

"Wiz Forlane!" She cried, running over and hugging him tightly. The man swung her and hugged her just as tightly, nearly knocking his hat off.

The boys stood to the side, seeing the reunion was a tearful but happy one. Once all was calmed down, Lexus turned to them, seeing the four just standing by waiting. "Sorry, sorry." She wiped her face and took a step. "These are my friends, they helped me get here safely."

Wiz tipped his hat, "You have my thanks." he told the four. "When I heard what happened in the city, I feared the worst for Little Lexy here."

Prompto chuckled, tucking his thumbs into his belt loops. "Little Lexy? I am so using that for now on."

"I'm not that little anymore." She retorted with a smile, turning back to the boys. "Wiz here is like part of the family. He trained my Dad to race Chocobos and rescued many of them when they were endangered."

"That reminds me," Ignis interrupted. "We'd like to meet Lexus' parents. Some unfortunate news must be given, pertaining Roland."

Wiz's smile fell, he rubbed his head and looked down to Lexus. "He didn't make it?" Lexus shook her head. The older man paused, looking between the two and sighed. "Sorry but, they ain't here."

Lexus looked up at that. "Did they go somewhere?" Prompto asked, "We can wait for them to come back." he offered.

Wiz shook his head, shoulders hunching slightly. "It ain't that simple." He turned to Lexus, "Take a seat." he motioned towards the chairs and table.

They all took a seat, Wiz slowly taking his last as he looked at each of the boys then to Lexus. She sat at the edge of her chair, her brows low and frown shown. "Did something happen?" She asked.

"Nothing bad, I promise." He told her. "After your parents left Insomnia, the two came back here- But didn't stay. Despite being in a chair, Varian still smiled at visitors and helped them learn to ride Chocobos. He showed himself as a prime example of the dangers of Chocobo racing, but still made it fun and enjoyable."

"My dad was happy here? I was always worried he'd be depressed here." Lexus muttered.

Wiz frowned, "No, if anyone- It was Hilda that was bothered." Lexus wasn't too surprised by this. Her mother nearly disliked anything her father liked. "She was worried for him, that being near the birds and seeing people ride them wasn't healthy for him."

Lexus went silent, looking down to glare at the mud that caked her boots. "But he was clearly happy. Why would she think that?" Prompto asked.

"My mother is like that." She spoke, looking up at him. "She acted like she always knew what was best for everyone." Lexus looked to Wiz. "Where did she send my dad to? Obviously nowhere we've been to."

"They both had packed up and left for Lestallum." Wiz rubbed his chin. "That was about seven years ago."

Lexus sighed, "So, first she leaves me behind in the city and forces my father to leave this peaceful life to a city like Lestallum?" she questioned. Wiz nodded, she hunched over rubbing her hands down her face.

Lexus was glad to not have to deal with her mother, but soon that relief was turned to disappointment of not seeing her father again after all these years. Once again, even when as far from her mother as possible, she still makes decisions that hurt Lexus.

"Wiz," he looked at her. "I know it's been years, but is Ferris still around?" she hoped so. The poor old Chocobo was retired after the race incident, but if he was still alive was beyond her knowledge for years.

A smile stretched on Wiz' face resurfaced her hope. "You bet he is."

Showing them to the brick building where the Chocobos were held, he opened the doors as it creaked. The coos and squawks of the birds were heard echoing in the brick building, stables filled with the large yellow birds that rustled about and paced in their small spaces. Prompto gasped behind Lexus, his eyes sparkled at the sight of so many beautiful birds! The other three were just as amazed by the amount of birds, even more so meeting the legendary racing birds. Noctis approached one to the left, only to have it try and bite his fingers off. He jumped back, earning a laugh from his fellow guard.

Despite the wonderment and joy from some of the men, Lexus looked around with sad eyed at the poor creatures. They were all stressed and upset in their current environment, being locked up and away in this dark building. The only reason Wiz would have them here is if something wrong had happened.

"Sorry for the noise, they don't like it much here." Wiz explained as he led them past the stables. "Poor things."

The one stable he stopped at was quiet with no squawking or pacing of claws against hay. Wiz motioned for her, she approached the stable and leered in, spotting the red feathers of her father's old riding stead. She beamed at the Chocobo curled up looking to be sleeping.

"May I..?" She asked, indicating the stable gate.

He nodded, allowing her to open the pen and enter. She took a bucket of feed hanging off a nail and slowly approached the sleeping bird. The boys looked over, watching silently as she gently knelt down and reaching to pet the red bird's head. The second her fingers made contact with the feather fringes on his head, Ferris opened his big blue eyes and raised his head to look at the pine haired girl. She slowly cooed at the creature, knowing it had been so long, wondering if he recognized her at all from when she was a little girl. Ferris chirped, tilting his head this way and that. After a few seconds he slowly shifted his curled position and rested his head into her lap as she placed the pocket down and took a handful of greens. The boys were fascinated by her gentle and slow touches with the old bird, as he cooed when it saw the greens in her hands and nibbled on them out of her palm. Her other hand stroked the stiff feathers along his long neck, feeling each soft bristle she remembered petting years ago.

"I know, I miss him too." She whispered, when he cooed at her. Not only had her mother taken the happiest place away from her father, but she only took away his only best friend. He reached up and excitedly nuzzled her cheek, causing her to let out a high giggled and blush.

"I missed you too!" She laughed, kissing his large beak as he squawked with happiness.

"That's the most energetic I've seen the old boy in years, now." Wiz commented.

"This was your father's bird?" Ignis asked. "The one he raced?"

Lexus nodded, flexing her fingers through the bird's feathers gently. "Ferris wasn't too hurt, my father got the brunt of it all. He only got an injured leg and was put out to pastor."

Prompto had a sad look in his blue eyes, nearly matching the same shade as Ferris'. Thinking of a way to lift the mood, the blond turned to Wiz with a hopeful smile. "So, would it be alright if Lexy taught us to ride some Chocobos?"

Wiz sighed, looking distressed once more. "Sad to say, that's a no can do." Prompto's shoulder sagged as attention was towards the man. "It's too dangerous to let the birds leave the post. That's why they're all locked up in here. The poor things."

"What's so dangerous out there? Got people hunting down the Chocobos?" Gladio asked, folding his arms.

Lexus gently moved Ferris and stood, walking towards the gate. "Thankfully, no. But, I feel this problem is much worse."

They all gave him a nod to continue. Ferris cooed slowly from his spot, Lexus waved a hand that she would be right there. "We got this uncommonly ferocious Behemoth prowling around these parts- Deadeye."

"A Behemoth?" Noctis questioned.

Ignis adjusted his glasses, nodding to himself. "I have heard of those gargantuan beasts. Larger than life and hard to kill."

Lexus resting her arms on the top of the gate. "It hasn't killed any Chocobos, as it?"

"No, the smell of him causes the birds to grow nervous. I thought it'd be best to keep them safe here and to suspend the rentals." Wiz walked across to a pen where a young fresh Chocobos had been squawking and getting restless in its pen. He smoothing its feather ruffled on its neck and head to ease the creature. "These poor birds are meant to be out in the open, not be locked up in the dark."

Lexus looked to the boys, they all felt bad for the birds, Prompto more than the three. He almost had his puppy eyes at Noctis to want to help them. Noctis looked around, rubbing his neck feeling the depressed and tense air the birds were creating from being penned up for who knows how long.

"Wiz, we'll give the birds some attention and care for you while we're here. We need to discuss our next destination anyway." Lexus offered, getting a look from Ignis and Noctis.

Wiz nodded, padding the bird's stern strong back. "Of course, they'd love it. I'll be outside if ya need anything."

Once he left, the boys turned to Lexus. She raised her hands before they could even say anything. "I know we just got out of a dirty situation the other day. But, these birds don't deserve this life and I want them to feel safe. With that monstrosity out there, who knows if it's attacking tourists and travelers."

Lexus sighed, feeling a tad guilty for putting them on the spot. "It's selfish of me to ask this, especially what I put you through with those soldiers. But-"

"Woah, slow down." Gladio stepped in, putting a hand on her tense shoulder. "I understand, we all do." He glanced to them as they all nodded.

"This creature could be a danger to other people, as you said." Noctis folded his arms, raising a challenging brow. "Sounds like a good hunt for the Prince to go after."

Prompto bounced on his heels, "To protect the Chocobos, Prompto will go!" he cheered.

Lexus smiled at the three, her eyes falling on the silent advisor. He pushed his glasses at him, giving her an assuring smile. "We'll gladly take care of it."

Lexus bit her lip, scrambling with the gate and running to hug each of them. Nearly throwing herself at the hulk that was Gladio and squeezing the limber Prompto. Even a small friendly patting hug was given to the dark haired Prince. Lexus found herself pausing at Ignis, with a deep breath she readied herself to wrap herself around his tall stature when he held a hand out for a handshake. The three men watched as she gulped and shook his hand awkwardly. Gladio sighed shaking his head, how blind can he be even with his glasses?

* * *

The group informed Wiz they would handle Deadeye and the plan was set. Lexus would stay behind -gladly- and help Wiz prepare to move the Chocobos while the boys hunted down the Behemoth. The cloudy rainy day was spent mostly for them to meander about and Lexus to give them an off hand teach of how to feed and care for a Chocobo. She thought of it as a pre-lesson since once Deadeye was dealt with, she would teach them how to ride the birds. Prompto and Gladio were naturals, the girls felt safe and comfortable being fed. Noctis was struggling it bit, causing one to have an uproar and accidentally spooking one. Ignis was good too, though one or two birds ignored him. Lexus had to help him, assuring the birds he was alright.

The evening came and Lexus found herself feeding the Chocobos their dinner. They were much better and happier with her around and seeing new faces. Though as she talked and spent time with Ferris, never did he stand from his curled spot. Taking in the pen he was in, she noticed the rest of the hay around the stable was clear and and stomped out -besides her own footprints-.

"Ah, fed them already?" She turned to see Wiz marching up to her with a glean in his eyes. "These birds haven't been this excited to eat in a long time."

Lexus hung the bucket of feed for Ferris, seeing the red feathered bird sleeping. "How long has Deadeye been a problem, Wiz?" She asked.

He sighed, folding his arms and leaning against a beam. "I'd say more than a few months, though it feels longer than that. I tried to give these birds some fresh air, but they wouldn't step foot near the door."

Her eyes glanced to Ferris, worried filling her sight. "And, how long has Ferris been like this?"

"Since your father left." He told, turning to watch the old bird's peaceful rest. "He was broken when he watched your father left. It's like the spirit was taken away from him. He never let anyone but me near him, and soon he shut me out too. Never wanted to get out and move, greet visitors, at times he'd skip a meal."

Lexus felt her nail dig into the creases of the wood. Her mother hurt her, her father, and now the precious bird before her. Chocobos could die if sad enough, it's a miracle he's still alive with how bad his state is.

"But today, Lexus-" She turned to Wiz. "I saw that spirit, just a sliver of it, light up in his eyes when he saw you." He looked at her, patting her back. "Saw the same light in your eyes too."

She sent a soft smile, sighing as she watched her father's precious steed sleep away. "I saw the speckled boy cooking up dinner, might wanna catch some of it." He suggested, taking his leave with a heavy yawn.

Lexus smiled to herself, deciding to feed Ferris after dinner. Best to let the old bird sleep now than wake him up. For sure he was tired from the excitement of her return today. She left the stoned stables and made her way to the camper van they'd be staying another night in.

"It's already been decided and agreed upon." A voice caused Lexus to pause from reaching for the door latch. Her eyes wandered up to the open window in the kitchen. That was Ignis' voice.

"Iggy is right." Chimed in Gladio. "It's a bit of a delay, but what can we do?"

A sigh was heard and some shuffling. "I know, I know. We have no other choice."

Noctis spoke up, his shadow looming over the shades of the open window. "We stick to the plan- We take care of Deadeye and leave. Lexus stays here, we continue our way to Lestallum. As originally planned."

Her body went rigged, but felt as if it was sinking to the ground. Her shoulders sagged and arms hung at her side. Her wide eyes stung staring at the window. Lexus felt like she had been punched in the gut, she may as well have been. She rather them come out and just hit her than hear those words again.

It was history repeating itself. She was being left behind, abandoned, forgotten all over again. Her mother and father left her behind in the damned city. Her Uncle Roland left her life without any last goodbyes. When Lexus finally thought she was with people who accepted her and wanted her… She was wrong again. They were going to leave her at this muddy damp ranch and continue with their own ventures.

Her body moved on its own, bolting for the stables as she ran into the dark place. She stumbled into Ferris' stable and threw herself into the hay, not caring how dirty it was or the poking of the straws in her skin. Tears fell down, as she wiped them with anger, wanting to scream and punch and kick and, and-

The soft nuzzle and cooing of Ferris brought her back from her blinding rage. She had been crying and hitting the hay letting it fly about, including getting stuck to her clothing and hair. Her bangs hung about over her eyes as she looked up to see Ferris had stood up and walked over to her. His large beak gently moved her hair and rubbed it against her cheek to comfort her. With her eyes watering up again, she hugged his head and hid her face into the feathers of his neck. The Chocobo knelt down and curled around her as if protecting its baby chick, nuzzling to cheer it up.

Why did she fall for this again? When will she learn- No one wants her around. Her mother didn't want her, her Uncle didn't want her, and now her friends didn't want her. What was she doing wrong? Was she not strong enough? Not brave enough? Maybe she was the direct problem with this rinse and repeat session in her life. A burden on people to a point that the best course of action was to just drop her and have her try again.

But Lexus was sick of trying again. Clutching the feathers in her fingers, she wiped her face of tears and dirt. Ferris let her stand as she smoothed her fingers onto his broad back. "I know this is selfish of me, old boy." She turned his beak to look into his eyes. "Can you give me one last ride?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July has been a depressing month for me. With the country a flame and my own problems with college and financial aid, it's getting to me deeply to get writing done. Apologies for making you wait so long.

The croaking of frogs and chirps of crickets seemed earlier nostalgic for Lexus, but equally creepy. The light of dawn would arrive in an hour, but the darkness gave her a chance to sneak out of the ranch to find the home of this Deadeye. With her crossbow, knowledge of the beast, and Ferris with her, she found herself to be terrified against this beast. But, why wait for them to just abandon her when she can just do the job herself and they can leave sooner. She didn't want a tearful goodbye or such, being dumped on this ranch. She still had to see her father, and she'd take care of this beast and drive to Lestallum herself if she had to- Once her bike arrived from Cindy.

Ferris chirped softly as he slowly made his way through the woods with his rider's daughter on him. Lexus was surprised the old bird could run, or even carry her. When she was leaving, he seemed to want to follow her. Even after she tried to keep him at bay, he nearly caused a racket until she let him go.

Now, they were trudging through the wet woodlands, identifying the location of Deadeye. It seemed like Ferris knew where he was going, whenever Lexus tried to turn to one direction, he ignored and went another. She stopped fighting him when she spotted a few broken down trees.

Her hand skimmed through his feathers, to comfort herself as she felt her nerves start to hit her. The size of these tall large trees broken down and some even ripped from the ground gave her a visual of how large this Behemoth was. Ferris suddenly got jumpy, making Lexus hold the reins tighter to keep from falling off.

"Woah, boy. Shh, what's-"

A loud moan, almost like guttural growls vibrated through the air, shaking the ground. Ferris ruffled his feathers, scratching his sharp talons into the dirt. The sound soon died off, leaving dead silence in the air.

"...Deadeye?" Lexus nudged Ferris, but he refused to move any further. With a sigh, she climbed off and smoothed down his ruffled feathers to calm him down. "It's alright boy, I won't force you to go out any further. Can you find your way back?"

He cooed softly to answer, his head turning to groom under his wing before facing her again. He then turned toward a rock formation, shaking his head to dry his feathers as raindrops fell from the trees above. She followed his line of sight, seeing a pathway through some rocks.

"Is that where he usually stays?" She asked, Ferris nuzzled her cheek. Assuming a yes, she thanks the bird with a kiss on his beak. "Alright, get back to the ranch."

Ferris let out a squawk and turned bolting back to the ranch. Making sure he was heading in the right direction, Lexus turned toward the path. She took a few deep breaths and let her boots mold into the mud below toward Deadeye's lair.

The sun grew higher, lighting the sky with yellow pink hues, though the clouds soon folded over. The smell of moisture singled it would be raining soon. It was growing chilly as Lexus made her way to where she was sure was Deadeye's territory. She shuddered, zipping up her leather jacket, spotting a small crevasse- Almost like an entrance with metal plates all over. She knelt down, peeking in to see this was an entrance. Maybe one Deadeye didn't know of, with how huge he was. The thought of it crushing with her in it by the beast made her hesitate and looked back behind her. She was almost tempted to wait for the boys, since they would be hunting the beast down.

The thought of them made her anger surge, fueling her to slide in and crawl through the open metal tunnel. What did they care? All they want is to leave, may as well take care of this Behemoth so they can get out of here faster. The faster the better; no goodbyes and cut ties completely. Lexus didn't want the pain she carried around to get heavier.

Moved a few steps she realized the only way further was one path, leading her to duck under from branches. She kept against the rocky wall finding an old fence. Lexus frowned, had this place been for something else, one time? Ignoring the thought, seeing it unrelated, she leapt over the fence and found herself in a huge open area.

She stood there, seeing broken down trees, branches looked to have been tossed aside or smashed under his weight. The sun was out, but with clouds closing in, it still felt like dawn hadn't passed yet. She looked around, noticing the dead silence of her surroundings. No croaking of frogs, no chirps of any birds, it was as if nothing living was existent here. She felt her legs quake a tad, but she took a few breaths and forced herself to move through the dense fog.

The four man group awoke that morning, had a light breakfast and got moving to take care of Deadeye. As they spoke with Wiz about it's location, Prompto looked around the Ranch not spotting their pine haired friend anywhere.

"Once you see the sight of broken trees, you're heading in the right direction." Wiz explained, he covered his eyes and glanced up. "Be careful, fog usually shades the woods this time. And judging by the weather, it'll be heavy for a good while."

"We'll be sure to use our sense if sight fails us." Ignis assured.

Prompto stepped over. "Hey, is Lexus anywhere? She didn't come to the camper."

Wiz looked around, he eyed the stable building and shook his head. "Last I saw her she was tending to the birds in the stables last night." He chuckled, turning to them. "She might've fallen asleep. She used to sleep right beside that old Ferris when she lost track of time as a young'n."

Prompto smiled at the thought, he moved to the stables to see her but Gladio stopped him. "Best let her sleep. She's had a rough few days."

Noctis heard stomping and looked toward the woods a tad tense. But then jumped back when a flash of faded red nearly ran him over. The others stepped back, seeing Noctis alright and taking in the sight of the old red Chocobo now out of breath and fluttering about wildly.

"Ferris!? Woah, calm down boy!" Wiz took the reins to hold him in place as the bird cried loudly and tugged from Wiz.

Noctis stepped around, not knowing if these birds could kick and didn't want to find out. "What's his problem?" He asked, "Wasn't he in the stables?"

Wiz eventually got a good hold of the bird, soothing it gently. "Did he escape?" Gladio asked.

"Nonsense, these birds are too terrified to even leave the pens knowing Deadeye is still out there." Wiz explained. "The only way Ferris would be out is..."

Suddenly, all the men looked to one another, four of them having a dark hunch why that was. Noctis and Gladio ran over to the stable building and opened the doors. They looked into each pen, but only found the respective birds in their, but no sign of Lexus.

"Any sign of her?" Prompto asked as he, Ignis and Wiz led Ferris back over. Worry was struck on the blond's features.

"Nada." Gladio sighed, roughing rubbing his chin. "Damnit, what is she thinking?"

Ignis' brows furrowed, what was she thinking, indeed? Why would she just run off after this deadly creature? Was she just that crazy?

"We gotta go now, who knows how long ago she left." Prompto said, bouncing on his heels to run off after her.

Ferris struggled against the tight hold of Wiz, but soon got loose when he made a noise of pain as Wiz didn't want to hurt him. Once free, Farris ran to the edge of the Ranch and scraped at the dirt and ruffled his feathers.

It took a while, but Ignis snapped his fingers in realization. "Ferris wants to lead us to Lexus."

Prompto grinned, running over to the bird. "Lead the way boy! Take us to her!" He squealed and ran off, but at a level speed for the boys to keep up.

Lost.

Lexus was surely lost.

She felt to have been wandering around this fog for over an hour, and it showed no sign of fading or letting up. She kept running into fences -that was thankfully not electrified-, large boulders, but hadn't run into Deadeye. Which of course was a good thing, but she was starting to wonder if maybe Deadeye just wasn't here at all.

"...Weak on the right. No eye, no horn."

Lexus froze, looking around her when she heard the echo of a voice. Deep, male, but confident.

"We'll stay in range until we can exploit its blind spot." Another voice, male again, the accent-

"Oh Gods, why." Lexus had no idea where the voices were, but knew those were Gladio and Ignis. Meaning Prompto and Noctis weren't too far. They were near and had finally caught up to take down Deadeye.

She knelt down by the boulder when the ground suddenly shook. The echoes of an ear splitting roar came out, making her have to cover her ears and duck down. Okay. Deadeye was here. And he sounded extremely hungry or angry… Hangry.

The shaking thud of his steps were near, Lexus looked around wildly and then suddenly heard the low rumbling growl to her right. She spun around and back up to block his vision of her with the boulder. She saw his faint tall large figure pound about, his long muscle like tail swung left and right in rhythm of his stride. What did she hear Gladio say, his right side was blind? Her eyes glanced up finding her indeed on his right side. With a lick of her lips as the pinch of his fingers, she got into a crouch position and started moving to follow him on his right side. The tail was whooshing over her head, keeping a good mind to stay low.

The trekking felt like it would last forever, Lexus started thinking the damn Behemoth was lost himself. The sudden snorting and grunting as he hoped over a work formation made her crouch back down thinking she'd been seen. After a few moments of silence, she approached the rocks spotting a small thin crevasse she could slip through.

"Lexus!"

She hung her head, they had seen her. Lexus turned to see the shadows of the four men take shape out of the fog and jogged over to her. "What are you doing out here?" Prompto questioned, stepping up to her. "It's too dangerous."

Her brows knotted, "Everything is just dangerous for me, isn't it?" she questioned to only get looks from them. She rolled her eyes. "Never mind, I got this so you guys can be on your merry way now."

Moving to shift between the rocks, Prompto reached out for her arm. "Lexus, I don't know what's wrong. But please, talk to us."

She yanked her arm back. "What's the point? I already told you, go away." Lexus waved them off and squeezed through.

Once on the other side, she heard the shifting of dirt, knowing they were following. She ran off, finding herself in a big open area, metal plating, fencing and even some flammable barrels lying about. But, still no sign of the beast. She got her crossbow out and prepped it, eyes curling around the foggy sky.

"Where are-"

A deafening roar bellowed out, enough that the fade blew away and revealed the brilliant bright blue sky. Lexus looked up, her shoulder sagged at the sight of the Behemoth, and boy did he earn that name. Just as she heard the boys say, he was down one horn and one eye to the right of his face. The dark cold colors contrast to the gray surroundings, made sense how he was so hard to spot in the fog.

"Holy Shiva…" Lexus shook, stepping back as the creature stepped down from the higher rocks. It's large fat tongue licked its lips and white sharp teeth.

The size of his paws alone would be enough to smash an entire house, the ground shook as it bounded after her. Her brain kicked into 'fight' mode and she fired her crossbow at the beast. The arrow bounced right off its thick skin, Deadeye jumped and aimed to crush her into dust.

"LEXUS!"

A body came flying at her, arms tight around her body as they rolled out of the way. A few grunts from her savoir and her, as they shielded her with their hands and body. Her face pressed deeply into the man's chest, closing her eyes as dirt and rocks flew above them.

"Stay down!" She opened her eyes finding that it had been Ignis who tackled her to safety. His glasses in tack and clothing dusted up.

Deadeye had seen he missed, seeing no evidence of his prey under his large paws. With a fitting roar, he looked around only to earn a fireball to the face. Lexus tried to sit up, but she felt Ignis' hand push her head down back against his chest.

"Unless you want your hair singed off, stay down." He told her. "They need to lure him from us."

It was then Lexus heard Prompto, Noctis, and Gladio battling the large beast. Their yells and the sound of their weapons making contact to Deadeye. He cried out in a high pitch and bound about, trying to slam and crush the three. Once far enough, Ignis let Lexus go, only for a moment to get to his feet and help her to her own.

"This way!" He pulled her along, but she looked back to see her crossbow back there. She couldn't let that beast crush one of the only things from Insomnia.

Lexus yanked her arm from him and ran back, only to hear him yelling in protest. But she kept going, taking a sliding dive toward it and grabbed it as she tumbled to her feet. A small smile having it back came, but soon fell when Deadeye was stomping toward her.

"Lexus!" She turned and saw Noctis throw a sphere to her.

She caught the orb, finding it hot by the touch and color of orange red flames. It was a magic flask, one of the elemancies she's seen Noctis create. Her eyes looked up at the beast, fire was his weakness as it had stunned him earlier. Lexus attached the flask to a bolt and loaded her crossbow.

"Lexus!" Ignis bellowed, "Get out of there!"

She aimed the bolt, closing one eye and steadying her breath as she locked onto his face. But she couldn't get a clear aim with him moving. Her sights fell onto a couple of large metal barrels, she saw had a flammable warning. With a toothy grin, she knelt down and fired at the cans. It felt as if time slowed down; Deadeye bounded closer as he was right in front of the barrels. Just as he let out a ground shaking roar, the bolt nailed right into one of the barrels. The impact broke the flask and thus ignited a large explosion right into Deadeye's face. A wail of pain howled, his face a flame and body burning. Noctis took the advantage to warp and slice at his legs, knocking him to his side. Everyone stood still, as the Behemoth attempted to stand, despite the burning of his flesh and bleeding of his legs. He raised his head then it slammed back down, no longer moving.

A few seconds passed, only the embers sparking around Deadeye was heard before Prompto let out a righteous cheer. Ignis ran right to Lexus as she fell to her knees, worried she was critically injured. He slid to her, almost not caring of the condition of his jeans as she checked her.

"Lexus, anything hurt or-" When his eyes fell onto her face, he saw her grinning. She wasn't hurt, bleeding, or even scared. Lexus was illuminated and proud by what she had been able to do just now.

"I can't believe I did that!" She jumped to her feet, making Ignis stand to make sure she didn't;t over exert herself. "Did you see the way that just exploded!? And how cool was that shot!? I wish I had a shot of that- amazing!"

Ignis couldn't believe how she was jumping about and excited of what had just occurred. It was like she completely forgot how close she was -twice- to getting killed by that monster.

"Lexus! Ignis!" The other three jogged over, seeing Lexus dirty and scraped up, but other than that, all in one piece.

"You had us worried, we thought we'd find you dead." Gladio told, arms folded tightly at his broad chest. "You shouldn't have gone off like that, you had Wiz worried too."

She nodded at him, gently swinging her crossbow at her side. "I didn't see the point in you guys going, since you planned on leaving me anyway." The look between them made her nod. "I heard you guys last night, you were gonna dump me here. Just like my parents did in Insomnia."

Guilt ate at their hearts, Noctis rubbed his neck frowning. "We weren't going to just abandon you, Lexus. We have to-"

"I understand your journey, and it's selfish of me to just expect you to stay by my side. But-" She took a breath and looked to Noctis. She stepped up, making him take a step back as she bowed to him- something he never expected her to do!

"I want to join you, help in your journey and do what I can to give my aid in getting you to Altissia." Her bow fell from her hands, clattering to the ground as she fisted her hands at her side. "Don't look at me as a scared civilian, your highness, but as a guard and friend in your mission."

Noctis was stunned, looking for help at Gladio who just stepped back and shook his head. Prompto got the same look and gulped. "Er, Lexus. There's no need to do that."

Ignis watched in silence, brows knotted and eyes cast down at the pine haired girl. He looked to Noctis, who still had no idea how to handle this. "This is upon your decision, Noctis. As her prince and future king."

That didn't help Noctis at all. He felt it would be safer for her to stay, but the guilt still stood in his heart of just doing what her parents had done to her. Leaving her alone again. Who was to say she would even stay, what if she rode off somewhere and got killed or captured by imperials. She was already seen with them, they might use her against them and that could endanger the people of the ranch as well. Noctis looked to her, only seeing her hair cover her face as she bowed low at him. She wasn't just any civilian, he had to remember. She knew nearly all the beasts of the land, knew how to defend herself and adapted quickly to danger. If one didn't know, she was surely cut out to being a royal guard.

"Lexus," He cleared his throat, "I-, er, think it'd be best if you came along with us. As a friend and ally."

Seeing she wasn't moving, he glanced at the others and bent down to try and see her face. Unable to, he gently lifted her shoulder for her to gently stand straight to see her crying. Tears streamed down her face, which she soon covered with her hands mumbling sorry to him. Prompto couldn't handle seeing her crying and approached her.

"It's okay, Lexus. You're my friend, and I'll never abandon or forget about you." He placed a had on her shoulder, making her tense. "I never had, after all these years."

She hiccuped, muffled under her hands. "I'm just-" She sniffled, lowering her head. "I'm more scared of being alone than having any beast come after me."

Gladio scoffed, "That makes you perfect for our group then." they turned to him as Lexus finally peaked through her fingers. "Anyone that can look into that large bastard's eye and do what you did, is okay in my book."

The boys looked to Ignis, her eyes followed. She was figuring it took not only Noctis' decision, but if everyone in the group was all in agreement. Noctis wanted to make sure they were okay just as much as he was.

Ignis looked down at Lexus as she was calming down, trying to get the tears to stop. Prompto wasn't the only one, he always remembered her. How could he forget her green hair, dorky childish smile, and snarky pride. He reached into the blazer of his jacket and felt the bristled feather as he took it out, showing the black sleek feather to her. Her eyes went wide at the sight, more tears producing seeing her father's good luck charm. He had held it all this time, all these years, ever since that fateful day.

"I never forgot you, Lexus. Even if I wanted to, I didn't. I wanted to return this to you for so long, but never found myself able to nor ever saw you." Gladio muttered a comment about her hair making it impossible not to see her.

Ignis continued.

"Just as the others have said, I agree." He held his hand out, the feather resting in his palm. "Join us."

Lexus' smile came back, in turn making Ignis softly smile down at her. She gently took the feather and felt the soft bristles. "Thank you."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been five months since I touched this story and it turns four years old this month!! I thought I started this story much sooner, but 2017? Holy shit! (according to FF.net, to those who are reading this on Archive) I’m trying to fix it where I take turns in updating between three stories this year. With this one, the Sherlock one, and Loki one!

“You guys have to ease yourself, relax when with the Chocobo.” Lexus explained as she stood with Ferris who kept nuzzling her back. She let him do whatever, nibbling her hair or softly cooing when she would reach back and pet his head.

Before the pine haired girl, the four boys stood with their respective bright yellow Chocobos. With Deadeye gone and no longer a concern, Wiz allowed the Chocobos out and they were just as excited to be out and free to roam the ranch again.

They decided to wait another day to reach Lestallum after Gladio called his sister, Iris. She was doing alright and wished them to be safe and sound. He had asked her to look for Lexus’ parents, since Wiz informed the group that's where they went to years ago. Lexus didn't know if she even wanted to see them, especially her mother. But, deep down, she felt she had to let them know she was alive and well. Possibly assuming she was killed in the attack on Insomnia.

For now, today, Lexus agreed to teach the boys how to ride a Chocobo. She felt it would come easy for Prompto and Gladio, while Ignis will figure it out with his constant calm demeanor. It was Noctis she was curious about, as his Chocobo was restless beside him and tried to bite his fingers a few times when feeding this morning. Finding a good behaved Chocobo for the prince would be difficult.

“How do we mount them?” Prompto asked.

Lexus smiled, “It’s more simple than you’d think. But, let’s first connect and learn about your Chocobo.” she turned to Ferris and reached a hand up. He nuzzled it instantly, letting her pet his red feathers and give his chest a rough scratch. Ferris ruffled at the joy of the scratch and cooed with his neck stretched out high.

“Each Chocobo is different, not one being the same as the other. They all have that sweet spot that’ll make them love you more. Try to gently find that spot.” She explained to them.

Prompto was a bit skittish at first, his excitement spooked the bird a few times. Soon he rubbed under its wings and then reached for its chest, kneeling down. His bird ruffled itself, making him nearly fall over. The bird wasn’t too bothered, as it stepped over and nuzzled his cheek, he was doing pretty good. Lexus inwardly joked they might be mistaking Prompto as a fellow Chocobo with his hair.

Gladio held his hand out for the bird to sniff and soon rubbed his head against it. Gladio patted its head, which the bird loved, resulting in a small scratched right above his beak. He had found his bird’s sweet spot pretty quickly.

When watching Ignis, he had skimmed his hands gently through his bird’s feathers along the back and neck, then heard it coo when he touched under his chin. He had found the spot and scratched under the bird’s chin, making it raise its head and tilt it this way and that.

Three down, one struggling prince to go.

Noctis had trouble even touching his bird, let alone find a spot. Concerned for his fingers being snapped off or getting kicked by the large legs. Amazing, she thought. He fought creatures ten times his size, but the thought of petting a Chocobo is what got to him. As a child, she would have enjoyed seeing this sight. But now, she just wanted to help ease him with the bird to ride comfortably. She approached Noctis who sighed in frustration.

“Is there something I’m doing wrong?” He asked.

She shook her head, “Just relax, this bird might not feel okay with you is all.”

“Oh, if that’s all.” He responded with sarcasm as she approached him.

Lexus gave him a look and gave his bird a few scratches and pets to find its sweet spot. She eventually found it at the back of his head, making the bird coo and rest its head on her shoulder as she gently hugged it.

“I think this one likes hugs more than scratches.” She figured.

Lexus taught them how to feed the birds, care for them, and finally got to mounting them. Wiz helped her set the saddles up on the birds, she did her own for Ferris and made sure it fitted him well. 

“When mounting them, you must keep clear of their wings. They’re small, but if you hurt them, they will hurt you back.” She warned, placed her right foot onto the stirrup and patted her hand onto it. “Make sure you use the correct foot, or you’ll end up sitting backwards.”

Prompto was pretty eager to follow her instructions, he did almost use the wrong foot and corrected himself.

“There’s a horn on the saddle, use that to pull yourself up.” She gripped it and pulled up, lifting herself and swinging her leg over the other side. Instinct gave her the advantage of slipping her other foot smoothly into the other stirrup. Ferris shifted in excitement as she held the reins.   
  
“Now let’s see you guys.”

Prompto moved a bit too fast with pulling up, and fell onto the other side of the bird. It didn't deter him, he jumped right back up and tried again. Gladio was pretty tall and seemed nervous of his large solid mass on the bird. But he tested it and saw the bird shift comfortably as he patted its neck. Ignis was a natural, he pulled himself up and his long leg gently swung to the other side as he adjusted his seating in the saddle. Prompto after his third attempt, eventually got on just fine with a victory fist in the air.

When it came to Noctis, Lexus couldn’t help but bite back a laugh. He was going in circles trying to mount the bird, who was side stepping in an endless circle spinning them both like dancers in a ball room. His friends laughed justifyingly at him, soon he got his foot off the stirrup before he fell over.

“And here I thought it would be difficult.” He joked, dusting the dirt off his pants and jacket.

“Want to give Ferris a try?” She offered him.

“No, no, I can- I’ll figure it out.” Noctis assured, attempting the climb again.

Thankfully, he did succeed and his bird started to calm down. “Good!” Lexus smiled.

She proceeded to teach them how to use the reins and the gentle communications with the nudge of their feet. A single nudge was to speed up, but she reminded them they can only go so fast for so long. Lexus eased them into how to turn left and right and to stop. Eventually, they all were getting the hang of it, to a point Prompto tried to start a race with Gladio.

“I’ll race you from the caravan to the Regalia.” Prompto offered.

Gladio grinned, adjusting his hold on the reins. “You’re on.”

“You’re not.” Lexus approached them to have Ferris block the birds. “You guys are nowhere near ready to race.”

Prompto pouted. “Aww, come on. Just a  _ small  _ one, please?” He begged, palms pressed together.

Lexus kept her stance, arms crossed. “These birds need to adjust.”

“Why not?” They turned to see Wiz coming over to them. He grinned broadly at the group. “It’s great to see the birds up and about. But they probably got a lot of energy to use. A race might do them good.”

Prompto cheered but Lexus held a worried look. “Are you sure? They’re still getting used to learning and-”

“I’m sure the boys and birds can handle it.” Wiz told, reaching over to give Ferris a scratch on the neck. “What better way to teach them than a good old fashion Chocobo race?”

* * *

The poles were set, the banners were up, and flags were positioned; A small Chocobo race was prepared for the group!

The first to race was Gladio and Prompto, Wiz gave them a once over as they held two tracks, using the smaller one. The rules were set to no kicking, pushing, nor hurting the birds. One lap, whoever won would race the next contender. Everyone stood by the sidelines to watch, each racer getting a cheer to win. Lexus gave Prompto a good luck, then Wiz fired the starting gun into the air. Gladio’s was startled at first, giving Prompto a good start as his bird bolted right into the race track.

“Go, Gladio!” Noctis yelled. Gladio finally got control and he bolted after Prompto.

Lexus bit her thumb nail. “A bit skittish.” She noted to Wiz next to her.

But he waved her off, “The birds are just anxious to get going. Don’t overthink it too much, Lexus.” he reassured.

How could she not? Chocobo races were dangerous, she’d know more than anyone next to her father. Sure, these guys weren’t just anyone; a prince and the royal guard. She felt down her collar bone where the black feather necklace rested, the bristles brushing her skin as she gently rubbed her fingers against the delicate plume. In her dreams she saw the same event occur over and over, a personal hell in her mind of the traumatic event. Now seeing a race, albeit small, it still caused anxiety to weigh in her stomach.

“They’re coming around the bend!” Noctis hollered, alerting the others and jerking Lexus from her thoughts.

The lead was shockingly Prompto, with Gladio lagging extremely behind. He ran past the finish line, throwing his hands up and hollering in victory. Ignis joked about Gladio’s weight compared to the skinny blond that was Prompto, is what caused the loss of the race. Next to race was Ignis against Prompto. Lexus kept fiddling with the feather as Prompto stepped at the starting line and Ignis got up his bird.

“Wish me luck?” He asked Lexus, making her look up as he walked past her.

She sent a smile, nodding. “I wish you both luck.”

“Take your mark!” Called Wiz, having the starter gun ready.

Ignis took his spot beside Prompto. The two shared some friendly remarks, and then the gun fired. The two were neck in neck at the beginning, looking it could be a tie. But when they came around the bend, it was Ignis who took the lead. It looked like he was going to win until Prompto made a last minute nudge and his Chocobo beat Ignis’ by a feather.

The final race was now to Noctis against Prompto. The prince was a bit nervous but when he got a small taunt from his best friend, his competitive side kicked in. Lexus was slowly relaxing, seeing no harm or foul from the small racing so far. The birds were fine and so were the racers. It was a tight race with these two. They were neck and neck, Noctic promising all the scratches and rubs to his Chocobo if he won. That seemed to have worked, as the bird cawed into the air and burst into a sprint at the last mile through the finish line. Noctis had to hold the reins tightly so as to not fall off from the sudden speed. Prompto took the win well, with slight teasing that he bribed his bird.  
  


“Is that a sore loser I hear?” Noctis countered.  
  


“You’re just jealous my Chocobo is well behaved.” Prompto bit back, letting said bird nuzzle against his arm.

“Now, now, boys.” Gladio stepped in. “Noctis won fair, right Lexus?”

She chuckled and nodded, “Nothing wrong is with encouragement.”

“Onto the final race!” Wiz announced, but earned a confusing looking Lexus turning to him. “Lexus is up next!”

She was taken back, feeling her knuckles lock in place at her sides. “Me? Wiz, you know I don’t race.” Lexus rubbed her arm, trying to fight the nerves out of her joints. “Besides, let him take the win and give what his bird deserves.”

“Do it for Ferris, boy old poor is itchin’ for a run! He’s been on the side lines too long.” Wiz nodded to the red bird seeing he was pacing around the starting line.

Lexus shook her head. “No, I can’t put Ferris through that. He’s retired for a reason.”

“And that reason bein’ yer father gone. He won’t let anyone else ride him, except you.” He pointed out.

Wiz wasn’t doing it for ill intentions, he knew Ferris wanted to race after seeing the whipper snapper of birds giving it a go. But, Lexus just felt too anxious. Her eyes fell onto the bird, seeing him chirp and scratching at the dirt rearing to get running. Lexus had a hard time saying denying these birds what they want. Be it sneaking them some extra treats or staying out later in the barn then she should’ve.

“Alright, okay, okay.” She forced a smile and stiffly marched over to her.

Noctis called over, “Hey, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

Lexus raised a brow at the prince, “If you’re saying ‘you can’t beat me anyway’ after that line.” She challenged, bringing a smirk to his features.

"Then it’s on!”

Lexus breathed a bit to fight off her nerves, tightening her fists on the reigns to bat off the trembling that threatened to emerge. The others joined the side line, Prompto cheering Lexus calling Noctis a cheater and Gladio cheering his prince. Ignis was silent, his eyes staring intently at Lexus studying her. He saw her fear, heard her panic and knew she was not doing okay as she pretended to be. He knew the horrors she faced that day, the race that crippled her father. The others have never seen how horrific a Chocobo racing accident could be. Not only was her father injured, but it led to an accident with other Chocobos. One trying to avoid him jumped over the crowd and broke its wings. Two Chocobos after trampling her father, got their legs tangled and-

Ignis shook his head, letting the images fade from his memory as he returned to focus on the current small race.

Once Wiz fired the gun, the birds shot off into a long neck and neck race. Lexus wanted to wrap her arms around Ferris’ neck in a split second fear of falling. But she tightened her legs and hunched herself down, which in turn made her speed up past Noctis.

After the second turn, Lexus started to ease in, giving less whimpers of each turn and hitch her breath less when he sped up. Her shoulders lowered and her elbows loosened, allowing her to take a proper racing position.

“I’ll catch up!” Cried Noctis from behind.

Lexus let her lips stretch and smile, almost daring to look back. “What? Ran out of bribes?” She called back, laughing to herself.

She bounded around the next turn, seeing the finish line poles in the distance. Lexus padded Ferris, praising him. “You’re so awesome, Ferris! Keep going! We can do this!”

Lexus saw the boys, all giving their hollers and waving arms. Ignis cupped his lips cheering as they locked eyes. She felt her smile stretch as wide as possible, throwing a fist into the air as she screamed “YEAH!!” passing the finish line.

Ferris stopped himself short, skidding onto the dirt. He seemed to have gone a bit fast, for his sliding made Lexus lose balance with her one hand on the reigns. The bird’s footing fell to the side making Lexus tobble to the ground, rolling into the grass. Ferris’ cries and the scream from Lexus caused panic attention to the men.  
  


“Oh, shit!”   
  
  
“Lexus!”

“Is she okay!?”

“Lexy!!”

The boys with Wiz ran as fast as possible to the hill she had rolled over. It was small and grassy, but a fall off a Chocobo shouldn’t be taken lightly. Prompto and Ignis were the first there, spotting Lexus sitting up at the bottom of the hill. They slid down, Prompto near tripping as they approached her.

“Hey, that was a big fall. Are you alright?” He asked as Ignis crouched down to her.

To their surprise, she was grinning ear to ear as she rubbed a small scrape on her palm. Her hair was at a disarray with dirt and grass stains on her face and clothing. Once she looked up at the two boys, she burst into laughter and fell back into the grass. Prompto couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction. But Ignis, he was terrified of her being injured like her father had. He released a tight sigh and fell back onto the grass, his arm resting on his risen knee and leaned back onto his palm. She had scared him almost as bad as the hunt for Deadeye did.

“She's okay!?” Called Gladio from the top of the hill.

Prompto gave a thumbs up. “She’s all good. Just laughing at a scrape.”

“You call it a scrape,” She pointed at him with her clean hand. “I call it a winner’s injury!” Lexus stood and attempted to wipe the dirt off her backside and knees, calling to the others. “Is Ferris alright?”

A squawk was heard, and Ferris joined them at the top. “He’s good!”  
  


* * *

  
“You’re sure nothing else hurts?” Ignis asked, as he knelt before Lexus cleaning her hand.

She rolled her eyes, sitting at the bottom step of the caravan, allowing him to tend to it. Her hair was fixed and she was in clean clothes. “Just some small bruises that’ll fade. Stop fussing, Ignis.”

“I saw you tumble over a hill after being flown off a bird at high speed.” He recounted, getting the bandages to wrap her hand. No need to waste a potion, Lexus told him. “I expected you to see you in worse condition.”

Lexus was quiet for a moment, drumming her fingers across her knee. “How bad?” She inquired, curious for his answer. Lexus was used to Roland being concerned and was still getting used to others caring about her well being.

But at Ignis’ silence, she had an inkling of what he was thinking.

She leaned back, her elbow pressed up against the upper step as she looked around the ranch. “Think I’d end up crippled?” Lexus felt Ignis pause, his eyes gazing up at her. She returned her eyes to his, seeing him looking over his glasses at her. “Like my dad?”

His eyes searched her’s, he looked down for a moment and finished wrapping her hand. Once done, he stood and padded the dirt off his knees and adjusted his blazer. “I saw the entire thing, that day in the city. It was horrifying to watch, but…”

Lexus chewed her lip, “So you were there that day.” she assumed. Ignis nodded, watching her hunch in her position to stand, fingers reaching to feel the black feathered necklace hanging around her neck.

“Lexus, at that time, I had been tasked to take care of Noctis.” He started to explain, as the two stood before each other, he towering her. “He had been-”

“I know, he was injured and had returned at that time.” Lexus remembered how her mother gushed over the news, a small pang of jealousy threatened to rise but she forced it back down. “You were his caretaker, even then?” She asked, raising her head to him.

He nodded, “I didn't start my duties at the time. Once I was given the news by my Uncle, it caused me to be late.” Ignis explained. “By the time I had gotten there…” He sighed and looked to the dirt beneath him. “I’m deeply sorry, Lexus.”

Lexus suddenly felt guilty, had he held this feeling all this time? He had arrived, he saw the accident as well as she did- As anyone did who was attending. Lexus started to think of herself a fool, for assuming everyone in the world hated her. Everywhere she turned, she lost someone or was forgotten by another.   
  
Ignis never forgot her.

Her fingers let the necklace go as she turned and stepped into the caravan. Ignis, fearful she was angry, stepped forward to follow her. She soon was met back with him, stepping down to hold out a familiar handkerchief. The beige cloth was one he had seen her use to clean the grease, but also the same one used to dry her tears when she was just a little girl. She unfolded it and showed him his name was embroidered into the material. Green stitching of his name in a beautiful cursive just in the corner.

“I asked my mom to put your name on it so I wouldn’t forget about you.” She rubbed her thumb against the growing worn out thread. A small smirk was found when Ignis stole a glance at her. “Uncle Roland always said I would meet you again, someone that was hard to miss.”

“Just as you are.” Ignis said, without even thinking of it.

Her eyes shot up at his, remembering Roland saying the same thing to her. She felt her eyes sting, she blinked to will back any tears that threatened to come about. Lexus folded the handkerchief and held it out for Ignis, he frowned at her in confusion.

“In thanks, for giving me back the necklace.” She told, her eyes wanted to avoid contact but struggled to.

Ignis reached for her hands, taking one and placing it over the handkerchief and gently pushing it back to her. Her brows knotted, but she saw a soft smile playing.

“I meant it when I said to keep it.” Ignis gently patted her hand, letting it go as she took a step back. Lexus looked down, feeling the soft handkerchief in her palms. 

The sudden sounds of a truck caught their attention, spotting a large yellow pick up with ‘HAMMERHEAD’ spray painted on the side. The cute greasemonkey, Cindy, climbed out of the vehicle giving a big wave to them. On the flatbed of the truck, Lexus’ motorbike could be seen ready to be unloaded.

Lexus quickly pocketed the handkerchief and jogged over with Ignis walking behind. Prompto’s calls could be heard as Gladio approached to help get the bike down. Lexus had noticed it looked cleaner than before, and the headlights were different too.

“Bike’s looking better than ever.” Prompto pointed out.

“Cindy?”

“Yeah?” Once the bike touched the ground, she looked over to the pine haired woman. “Pretty, ain’t she?”

Lexus let out a sigh with a small smile. “Did you…?”

“Poor thing looked like it needed a small clean up, I hope ya don’t mind. I also put on a new pair of headlights to see better, it’s twice as dark out here than in the city.” She explained.

Her smile widened, eyes sparkling as she circled her precious bike. It had looked as good as the first day she got it! Lexus would feel bad getting it dirty again.

“Some special wax will make it a smooth ride, you’ll be glidin’ in the wind!” She cheered.

“It’s incredible!” Lexus exclaimed. “Oh, uh, let me pay you for the services.” She reached for her wallet in her pockets- wherever it may be.

Cindy waved her off. “Don’t ya worry your pretty little head ‘bout it.” Lexus frowned, looking back at her. A soft look came over the blonde’s slightly grease features. “Paw-Paw made it a special order. It’s on the house.”

Lexus stepped around the bike, and engulfed the greasemonkey into a sudden hug. It caught her by surprise, along with the others who watched on the sidelines. Cindy smiled and hugged her back, thankful she was wearing clean gloves.

“Thank you, Cindy.” She whispered, pulling back to let her go. “Give Cid a thanks, and sorry. For me screaming at him last time.”

Cindy tipped her hat, “Will do, and ya be safe out there.” she nodded to the others.” All ya’ll!” Cindy moved to her truck and climbed in, starting the loud vehicle. “Call if ya need anything!”

They all waved as she pulled the truck off the lot and onto the road to return to Hammerhead. Lexus looked over her bike, taking her helmet off the back and noticed even that had been cleaned up too. She shook her head and turned to the boys.

“So, when do we move out?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, making progress and we are continuing with the story!!

The streets were wet from a rain the following morning, but it made it more fun for Lexus’ driving as she drove through as many puddles as she could. Water splashing onto the pavement, road, the grass, even at one point splashing the Regalia nearly getting the men wet. In response to that, Ignis brought the hood over the car, enclosing them from any more puddle splashes from Lexus.

“I think she might be done for now, Ignis.” Noctis told, who had refused to lower the roof through the half of the ride.

“Yeah, the roads are drying up here, no more splashes!” Prompto agreed.

Ignis didn't budge, “Can’t be too careful.” he told.

Up ahead, a tunnel was coming into view that passed through the large mountain. Lexus looked behind her and moved easing the break to ride beside the Regalia. Ignis noticed she raised her visor so he lowered the window.

“Past this tunnel should be Lestallum!” She called over her and the car’s motors. “If Prompto wants some good pics, tell him to keep his camera ready!”

Ignis nodded and decided to lower the roof, finally. The boys sighed as they prepared for the wind to bluster through their hair. Lexus held the break and lagged behind the car.

“What did she say?” Gladio asked.

“She informed us the city of Lestallum should be past this tunnel, and for Prompto to take pictures on the ready.” Ignis informed them, just now entering the tunnel.

Prompto oohed as he got his camera out. “It’s like we’re warping into another dimension!”

“Wonder where we’ll end up.” Noctis mused.

The sudden loud roaring engine echoed out behind them then blasted past with the sight of Lexus zooming by, doing a wheelie at full speed. Noctis and Ignis winced as they’re left ear drums just enjoyed that ringing coming after. Prompto stood from the car and took as many photos of her trick as he could, before Gladio tugged him back down.

“How much more reckless could she get?” Ignis grumbled, trying to ignore the ringing in his ear.

Noctis kept moving his jaw and rubbing his ear. “Aww, getting worried over her, Iggy?” Gladio teased, earning a glare in the mirror.

“That’s cute.” Noctis added, getting his hearing back. Iginis was tempted to slam the breaks on the two.

Soon the tunnel came to an end, the sun shining once again as the group entered the city. The buildings were tall and the curbs were lined with cars, people walking along the sidewalks and crossing streets. Gladio stood spotting a cable car, Prompto nearly stood with him as Ignis followed Lexus to a lower parking lot. He backed the car in as Lexus parked right beside them. Lexus kicked the stand up and removed her helmet, ruffling her hair to bring its bounce back. The boys got out of the car eagerly and Lexus climbed off her bike and joined them as Noctis was complaining about the change in temperature.

“You’d be much cooler if you just took your shirt off.” Gladio advised.

A look was given, as the said member was not wearing a shirt beneath his short sleeve jacket. “Like you? No way.”

Gladio turned to him as they walked up the ramp. “What? Too embarrassed to show your scrawny body?”

Lexus snorted, earning a look from Ignis beside her from the sudden noise. Noctis felt his neck turn red, glaring at his shield. “Hey, I got muscle.” He defended. “You just can’t see it.”

The falter of his defence made Gladio not suspiciously. “If you say so.” 

Nonetheless, the heat was noticeable among the others. Even Ignis prompted to remove his blazer and folded it over his arm, Lexus shed her leather bike jacket hooking it over her fingers tossing it over her shoulder. She was smart to be wearing a tank top letting bare arms cool down from being trapped in the tight jacket.

Gladio almost veered into Prompto when something caught his attention. Lexus looked to see it as a Cup Noodles stand, extremely popular in the city. After her time with them, Gladio had shown his love for the cheap things, Ignis noted to stock up on them or else Gladio would hold it over his head.   
  
Lexus felt anxious and at ease as they crossed the street to the city. She missed city life after the fall of Insomnia, but at the same time, was feeling on guard knowing her parents were in this city somewhere. It shouldn’t be too hard to spot them out in a crowd; her mother held her hair the same pine green albeit darker as she remembered, and her father now bound to a wheelchair. At this point, irrationality was starting to set into her mind.

What if they didn't recognize her as the little girl they last saw in Insomnia?

What if they’ve forgotten all about her and deny her?

What if they’ve changed their appearance and she won’t be able to recognize them?

What if-

“Lexy? You alright?”

Blonde hair and blue eyes were in her view, stepping back from Prompto’s concerned face. “Sorry, just… Overthinking things.”

Prompto was going to ask more, when Gladio’s phone pinged. He looked at the screen, nodding to himself. “Iris is at the Leville.” He informed the group.

Noctis took lead with Gladio and Ignis following, Prompto and Lexus lagged behind, with the blond checking on her as she scanned the people they passed by.

They took notice how people mentioned tremors recently, their sisters or wives working for promotions, and side stands selling clothes and foods. Beautiful music of a guitar played by a fountain, children were kicking a ball around and… People were just happy.

At the Leville was seen up ahead, the group froze when a sudden tremor occurred. The loud rumbling spooked Lexus, never having felt this before.

“Woah, did you feel that?” Prompto asked, looking around to make sure he wasn’t the only one.

Gladio nodded, “You mean the earthquake?” he asked.

Lexus was tempted to reach out for a pole as if the ground would open up beneath her. “Never felt one before.” She told as the tremors started to calm down.

Noctis stumbled a bit, his hand reaching up to grip his head as his face contorted to pain. “What’s wrong?” Ignis asked, noticing when Noctis released a tight sigh.

Everyone turned as Noctis shook the feeling off. “My head just started throbbing.”

“You alright?” Prompto asked, Noctis nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He brushed off, passing them to the Leville. Everyone gave each other a look before following inside.

The fans blowing and AC blasting made it feel so much more comfortable from the sudden heat wave they were slammed with arriving at the city. Lexus sat down on a white cushioned couch as Gladio went to the front desk. He asked the man at the desk to let Iris know he was there, he called on the phone and said she’d be down shortly.

“What’s Iris like?” Lexus asked.

Gladio folded his arms, “You’ll see, she’s a real sweetheart.” he told her.

“She’s pretty cool,” Prompto added, moving to sit next to Lexy. “At times can even hold her own.”

Lexus has only heard that Iris is Gladio’s little sister and that her Uncle and Ajax helped her out of Insomnia. She wanted to relax on the plush couch and under a cooling fan, but her mouth grew dry and her stomach felt heavy.

“Gladdy!”

Their heads turned as a dark haired pale teenager in black came down the stairs. Her hair was short brushing her ears and eyes brown, she was petite and small compared to her tower of a brother. Her outfit was cute, consisting of black with brown patterns that looked maroon in the light, sleeveless hoodie and a skirt with black calf boots giving her a few more inches in height.

Her smile was bright as she came down the stairs and approached the boys. “Look at you guys, holding your own out there.” She teased.

Prompto scoffed, rubbing his nose. “Aw, we had a little help.” he motioned to Lexus who nervously waved at the teen standing.

“You must be Lexus.” Iris suddenly hugged her, catching the woman off guard. Gladio gave an apologetic smile, but Lexus patted her back and she was let go awkwardly. “So, you helped them get here safely? I owe you my thanks, again.”

For a second, Lexus completely forgot that Roland and Ajax saved her from the fall of Insomnia, almost jolting at her from the memory snap. “Yeah-no! It’s no worry, it’s nothing. If anything, I owe them thanks and too many for my taste.”

“That sounds about right.” Iris joked, looking at them. “You guys are staying here, right?”

“That’s the plan.” Ignis confirmed.

“When you have time, we have catching up to do.” Gladio told her.

Iris nodded, folding her hands behind her. “Sure, let’s get you guys settled in first.”

Usually whenever the now group of five got a room, the men were in one while Lexus had her own or if tight, took the couch. The boys didn't seem to bother sharing beds, so long as Gladio didn't steal room from whoever he was sharing with. Lexus was at a point she didn't mind privacy, used to camping with them, staying in caravans and many hotels from low star to five star. This time around, Lexus gladly had her own room next door to the boys. They gathered in their room as two more people greeted them.

A young boy of dirty blonde hair in red plaid, his grandfather beside him using a cane for support. Gladio was very glad to see them, Ignis side commenting to Lexus that they were in the house of Amicitia.

“Jared and Tellcot! Is it good to see you.” He greeted.

“As is you,” Jared gave a small bow in greeting. “And you, Your Highness.”

Talcott grinned as he saluted to Noctis. “Prince Noctis! Iris is safe with me!”

Lexus couldn’t help but smile, the boy was sweet and fairly brave during all this. Iris giggled, nodding to the boy. Jared patting his grandson’s shoulder, “Please excuse my grandson. He has yet to learn his manners.”

Noctis though, he smiled approvingly at the boy. “I like it.” He praised him.

Talcott beamed at that, Jared nodded. “Your highness is very kind, but we shan’t impose.”

“A very good night to you, Your Highness.” Talcott said.

The two bowed a good bye and made their leave, Iris shut the door and everyone sat down to discuss what needed to be; Insomnia’s fall. Noctis, Prompto, and Iris took the plush leather chairs to sit, focusing on her as Ignis and Lexus sat on the bed.

“So, Iris,” Noctis storted, his fingers knotted within each other. “What was it like in the Crown City?”

Iris looked down, remembering that night, but was able to tell as best she could. “Night pretty. The Citadel took a beating. But, the outlying neighborhoods made it through in one piece.”

Lexus remembered where Roland’s bar and home was, too close to the Citadel. She imagined that street being wiped out.

“The empire had tactical targets in mind.” Ignis told.

Iris' eyes caught Lexus, who was staring down at the carpet below her boots. “Lexus,” The pine haired girl looked up. “Roland and Ajax, they fought bravely. More people got out because of them, including me.” Lexus bit her lip hard, nodding in thanks. “I also found your parents.”

Heads shot up at that, Ignis glanced to Lexus seeing her eyes wide. “They really are here?”

Iris nodded, she stood and took out a small patch of paper, handing it to her. “This is the address. I haven’t really met them, I thought it wouldn’t be right to tell them about you, but you see them yourself.” She rambled, shrugging as she sat back down. “If that makes sense.”

To Lexus it did- She could show herself, her now adult living self to them and show she was alive and well. She didn't open the paper, but pocketed it. “Thanks so much, I’ll head there tomorrow.”

Iris turned to Noctis, “You know if there’s anything else, you can ask me.” she offered, catching him off guard.

“Er, yeah, thanks.” Though, he didn't ask anything else. Iris clearly wanted to tell him something else, he leaned forward. “What?”

“So… about Lady Lunafreya. I keep hearing she was in town.” Noctis tensed, something bad or good? “Apparently she left right away, but at least it means she’s okay.” She added.

Noctis released a sigh, “Good to hear. Thanks.” he smiled.

Iris nodded, standing to leave them be after informing all she knew. “Well, have a good night’s rest.”

They all bid her good night and they were left alone. 

“Guess we oughta get our things from the car.” Prompto said, not wanting to sleep in his day clothing again.

Ignis stood, “I’ll fetch them.” he opted.

Lexus then stood following behind him., “I’ll go with you, need to get my things for a shower.” she told.

“Don’t get lost, you two.” Noctis teased, earning a glare from Ignis as they left the room.  
  


* * *

  
Lexus and Ignis were silent in their walk toward the parking lot. It was growing dark with the sun setting, string lights among the city and lanterns lit up making Lestallum look quite pretty.

“So,” Ignis spoke up, Lexus looked to him. “You’ll be meeting your parents tomorrow?”

Lexus nodded, “Seems so.” she told with a nod.   
  
They paused at a street as a few cars drove by, the silence returning to them. Once clear, they crossed the street and down the ramp where the Regalia and her bike were parked. Ignis popped the trunk and got the bags that held their needed items for showers, clothing and other assortments. Lexus unlatched the seat of her bike where she kept her backpack that held her own personal items. She snapped it back on, pausing as she pressed her fingers against the side, where a painted Chocobo was seen. Ignis was ready to head back, but found her staring off with that look again, a look of uncertainty. 

“What’s wrong?” Ignis asked, approaching her.

Her tongue was ready to dismiss his concern, but she turned and shook her head. “I’m really scared, Ignis.”

He frowned. “Of what?”

“Seeing mom and dad again. I keep trying to calm myself down that everything will be fine, but I’m not so sure.” She admitted, feeling dumb for feeling so.

Lexus leaned on her bike as it used the kickstand to take her weight. Ignis didn't like seeing her as such, too many times he’s seen her as looking down and long faced instead of seeing her eyes sparkling and smile beaming. He adjusted the bags and nodded his head to follow her. She moved her backpack over her shoulders and did so, as he led her toward the viewpoint of the Disc of Cauthess glowing in the far distance. He placed the bags down and leaned onto the wall, arms cross and elbows resting on the stone. Lexus was a bit confused by his notion, standing there waiting for something to happen or be said.

“I remember when we first met. You were lost and crying, scared of the big city. I wiped your tears and helped you back to that bar.” Ignis chuckled, taking his glasses off to clean them with a cloth he kept in his back pocket. “You swung my hand suddenly all happy, as if you had completely forgotten you were lost in the first place.”

Lexus felt her cheeks warm, smiling at the memory. “You said you liked my accent, my glasses, and most of all my hair style.” She groaned covering her face, but a smile was still seen by him.

“God, Even I forgot I said that.” She nervously chuckled, “How degrading.” Lexus sighed.

Ignis got a bit of a kick teasing her, it brought her smile back so plus on that. “I also remember you were a tad scared to go back, fearful how cross your mother would be that you wandered off on your own.”

Lexus let her hands fall down her face and rested them at her side. She looked up curiously, just missing the sight of Ignis without glasses, as he wore them again. “Yeah, and boy, cross doesn’t cut it.”

Ignis turned to her, twisting his body to face the city and lean his back against the stone wall. “But, she shed just as many tears as you had, both your mother and father hugged you and were thankful you were alright.”

Following his position, Lexus leaned against it beside him. Her hands reached back, flattening at the stone top for support. “I get what you’re saying.” She nodded. “They’ll do just what they did back then; ugly cry and smother me in hugs, thanking the Six I survived the attack, right?”

Ignis shrugged his shoulder. “Can’t predict that to happen, but I wouldn’t put it past me.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down at the metal tip of his shoes momentarily. His lips grew dry, glad he cheered her up and hopefully saw reason. Now, he wanted to ask-

“Will you come with me?”

His head spun at her, a little too fast near causing whiplash in his neck. He subconsciously rubbed it and stood off the wall turning to her. “Go with you?”

Lexus looked away for a moment, once against following his movement to stand before him, closer than beforehand. “To see my parents again. I’m not as scared, but I’m still nervous. You have the tendency to help me see reason, so…” She trailed off, wracking her brain to think of rational reasons for him to join her.

“If you’re not busy, of course.” She suddenly added. “I don’t want to pull you away from anything Noctis or the others might need or what you’re planning-”

A soft laugh escaped his lips as he smiled down at her. He brought a hand up and gently placed it over her shoulder. A chill ran up her spine, feeling his bare hand on her shoulder. “It’s no trouble, Lexus. I’d be glad to accompany you.”   
  
A heavy sigh was released, her shoulder loosened under his palm as they slouched. “Thank you so much, I really do owe you a lot.”

Ignis let her shoulder free and pressed his knuckles against his chin in thought. Then he snapped his fingers, Lexus straightened at attention. “I’ve got it! Accompany me to the market, just before we go meet your parents.”

Lexus tilted her head curiously. “How early are we talking? Gladio early or Noctis early?” She asked in a teasing manner.

He released a soft laugh and shook his head, folding his arms. “Let’s settle in the middle. Say around nine o’clock?”

Lexus grinned and took her phone out, setting her alarm for said time. “It’s a date!”

Ignis’ brows shot up at her chosen words, she didn't seem to notice herself as she helped pick up a bag by his feet that was Prompto’s and took the lead to get back to the hotel. He shook from the thoughts and picked up the rest, following her through the light crowds of locals.  
  


* * *

  
Lexus got a proper good and long hot shower, letting her muscles relax under the pounding water. The head was removable and she had it set to pulse, giving her back, legs, and arms a good soaking massage. Then gave her pine hair a good thick wash, scratching and rubbing her scalp. It was like she could feel the layers of dirt peel off like a snake shedding its old skin. Abusing her power of having nearly an hour and a half shower, Lexus forced herself out and dressed into a tank top and shorts. It was hot, to say the least, in the city. She was glad to have brought clothing for all different temperatures, sunny hot dessert or cold windy nights. But she started to get a chill from the AC being too high, so she lowered that and opened her balcony.

Sky was dark and some clouds could be seen, but no stars were in sight. Lexus leaned on the warm railing, scanning the skies as if she’d spot the sparkly diamonds in the sky. Voices below made her look down, seeing couples, friends, and family meander about. A lot of women talked of their jobs and some kids chased each other despite the scolding from the parents. The scents of food stands rose up to her, making her sniff and smile at the smell of fried breads and grilled meats. She was almost tempted to get dressed and get some food, not having a proper dinner. Her stomach growled, making her tempt the decision. 

A sudden knock on her door, in a weird offbeat rhythm made her turn and walk back into her room. Lexus peeked through the peephole, finding tufts of blond hair and a freckled blue eyed smile.

She opened the door, greeting him with her own. “What’s up, Prompto?”

His eyes seemed to have gone from her face to scanning her body, her long legs exposed to the boy, even her tank top had rolled up to show a hint of her belly button. Noticing his distraction, she brought her finger under his chin and lifted his gaze back to her eyes.

“Up here, Blondie.” 

He blinked, cheeks clearly red as he reached up to rub the warmth of them away. “Sorry! So sorry, my bad! I didn't know you’d be so... re… ready for bed!”

Saving himself, Lexus leaned on the door frame, amused by this. “It’s no different than the shorts that Cindy wears, right?”

“Right! No difference what’s so ever!” Only that Lexus was wearing the shorts this time, Prompto thought.

“Anyway, did you need something?” She asked, trying to get him back on track.

Prompto cleared his throat, “OH right! Yes, Erm- Since we didn't have dinner, the guys wanted to know if you wanted anything we have premade. Ignis has some sandwiches and Gladio is offering to sacrifice one of his Cup Noodles if you want?”

Lexus’ stomach growled, she fixed her tank top. “Funny enough, I was actually thinking of tossing on some jeans and getting food from some stalls down below.”

“Oh yeah?”

She nodded, “The smell from the balcony has me tempted.”

Prompto nodded, “Well then,” He did a dramatic bow, arm behind his back making Lexus snicker. “Allow me to fetch milady's meal.”

“You don’t have to Prompto.” She dismissed.

Prompto stood up, “You look comfy already, and Ignis has scolded us enough times to never go outside with a wet head.” Lexus reached up remembering her hair was still dripping from her shower. “Just tell me what you’re looking for, I’ll sniff it out!”

Lexus couldn’t help but giggle, he was too cute. “Alright, you win.” She caved, “I smelled some bread, possibly deep fried and grilled meats. I remember us passing by a grill stand selling skewer meats. Maybe it’s from that.”

Prompto saluted to her, wincing as he rammed his knuckle hard against his forehead. “On it! I’ll be right back!” Then he jogged down the hall to the stairs.

Lexus shut the door and rushed to the balcony, seeing Prompto leave the hotel and head toward wherever the food was being made. Thinking he might be a while, she returned to her room and tended to her hair. She ruffled a towel over it, then remembered the bathroom had been supplied with a hair dryer. Taking advantage, she got her hair dry faster with it, also warming her up a bit. Lexus combed and fixed her hair, then put it in a loose ponytail, allowing it to rest over her shoulder.

Just as she sat on her large lush bed, another knock came upon the door. “Prompto must be back.” She got up and padded to the door, but found Noctis instead.

“Oh! Noctis!” She shrunk behind the door, feeling her outfit was not the best for him to see with how Prompto reacted.

“Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Prompto?” He asked, clad in his black shirt and black sweatpants. “We thought he would only take a second and has been gone a long while.”

“Sorry,” She shrugged, “He ran off offering to get me food.” Lexus explained. “He should be back any-”

“I’m back!” The sharpshooter had announced as he came down the hall.

“Second.” Lexus finished stepping aside to gather the styrofoam container that felt deeply warm in his hands.

“Found you some spicy skewers and fresh deep fried rolls.” Prompto told, a wide grin as he got a smile from her. 

“Smells  _ sooo _ good! How much was it?”

“Ah, about 1,600 Gil.” He stepped side to side like a kid. To Noctis, it looked like he was talking to a girl for the first time. “Don’t worry about paying me back.”

“No, I  _ will  _ pay you back. Just wait one moment.” Lexus left the door open as she fetched her money. 

Prompto then noticed his friend there, “Oh, hey Noct.” He waved.

“Hey, yourself.” He greeted sarcastically, arms folded. “We’ve been wondering what’s taken you so long. Thought you might have fallen asleep over here.” Noctis nodded his head at the room.

Prompto folded his hands behind his back innocently, he shrugged at his best friend. “Just getting the lady a meal, like I said I would.”

“Well, you said you’d ask what she wanted and relay back to us.” Noctis corrected.

Prompto frowned, “What’s the difference?” Lexus returned and handed the Gil to him, now wrapped in a robe. “Enjoy the meal, Lexy!”

She smiled and waved to them both. “Thanks, and you guys have a good night’s sleep.”

“Sleep well.” Noctis told, and she shut the door to have her dinner. He glanced at his friend, staring at the door who needed to be nudged away. “You got it bad, man.”

Prompto got defensive as they left toward their room. “What’s that mean?”

“It’s one thing to crush it on Cindy, with her grandpa being protective and all.” Noctis opened the door, Prompto following. “But Lexus too?”

Prompto accidentally slammed the door behind him, “It’s not like that!” He told him.

Gladio and Ignis were among themselves when Noctis left, the shield in his gray tank and black sweatpants sitting on the bed, while Ignis in suitable pajamas of dark maroon was reading a book in a chair. Everyone had gotten a shower but Prompto, as Gladio was in when he checked with Lexus. His dark hair slicked back as Ignis’ was more in an uncaring ruffled mess after his own shower.

“It’s not like what?” Gladio asked, curious like a cat in the conversation.

“Nothing!” Prompto barked, but judging by the tint of blush on his freckles face, Gladio wasn’t going to let it go.

The tall mass stood, raising a brow. “Doesn’t seem like nothing. What, did you catch her naked or something?”

Ignis’ attention suddenly jumped from the pages and toward his friends. “Prompto!” He yelled, ready to scold for doing such a thing.

Noctis laughed as he found his friend caught in a worse situation. “No! I swear, I didn't!”

“Then what’s so nothing about Lexus?” He asked.

“Who said it was about Lexus?” Prompto countered.

Gladio threw a thumb toward the Prince. “Noctis said ‘Lexus too’. So, she must be involved.”

Ignis closed his book, standing. “Is Lexus alright?” He asked with concern.

Prompto felt like a trapped Chocobo, looking between the three before sending a glare towards a grinning Noctis. “It’s nothing, it’s really nothing!” He insisted, backing towards the bathroom. “All I did was just get Lexus some food and that’s it. I’m gonna hit the shower, okay?”

Prompto grabbed his night wear and left for the bathroom, the water running blocking out any noises. Gladio folded his arms and glanced to Noctis. Knowing the Prince would squeal, he shrugged, getting into bed. “Prompto’s got a crush on Lexus.”

Gladio bellowed a laugh and shook his head, “What happened to Cindy?” he asked.

“Probably saw she was more into cars than him, Lexus does give him more attention.” He told.

Ignis placed the book down, walking over to the balcony. He peeked out seeing Lexus’ balcony doors here open, so he closed them for her to be deaf to the conversation the two were having.

“What did he get her?” Gladio asked.

Noctis got under the blankets and sighed, resting his head into the nice soft pillow. “Just some skewered meat and fried dough. But, she was happy as hell for it.” He told him.

“What a white knight.” Gladio joked with a chuckle. “He’s got it real bad.”

“Yeah-” Noticed yawned, rolling over to indicate he wanted to sleep. Gladio conceded and sat on the bed, awaiting for others to be in bed before he’d go to sleep. “G’night.”

Ignis kept staring out the windows, the lights shining from the hanging lanterns and street lights. Prompto had a crush on her? He felt the pit of his stomach sink when Noctis mentioned it, though he was sure Prompto would deny it. Besides, the blond had the tendency to crush on any girl he saw, including ones he’d pass by back on the streets of Insomnia. He probably just had a small crush on her kindness. Maybe from her bright smile and laugh. The way her eyes sparkle when she looks at someone. How she throws herself to protect those she cares for, despite the danger. The lost look she holds when the darkness surrounds her, the kind Ignis wishes to chase away to bring her back to the light.

Hold the breaks! Ignis thought, gripping the handles to the doors tightly. Talking about Prompto here, not himself. He shook his thoughts and let the doors go, maneuvering toward the bed to get ready for sleep. Ignis checked his alarm on his phone and left it on the bed side table, placing his glasses right beside it.

“Night, Iggy.” Gladio bid.

“Sleep well.” He bid back, digging himself under the blankets and sighing into the pillow.

It wasn’t until an hour after Prompto finished his shower and went to bed that Ignis finally got himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but next chapter we get to meet Lexus’ parents!! And we get a small cute ‘date’ with Ignis and Lexus!!
> 
> Comment/review and say safe!! Much love!


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